Rani Channamma Nisargadhama, a mini zoo at Bhutaramanahatti, 14 km from Belagavi city, is all set to become a major tourist attraction soon with the Zoo Authority of India (ZAI) permitting the zoo to house lions and tigers. The mini zoo spread over 32 hectares is being upgraded
“Zoo at Bhutaramanahatti to get Lions very soon, We are upgrading Rani Chennamma Zoo to attrack more tourists. Getting lions to the zoo isn’t that big job, but maintainance is a big task. The average daily water requirement of zoo is minimum 2.5 Lakh litres of water a day. There are 3 ponds nearby but isn’t suffiencient” – Said Basavaraj Patil, Deputy forest conservator
Also He mentioned that, Kittur Rani Chennamma zoo is in need of 50 Crore funds for facelift which includes Expanded Enclosures, animal cages with new specifications of Central Zoo Authority’s (CZA) and Infrastructure.
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Initially a pair of lion —male and female — will be housed at the zoo and later one more female may join the family. The zoo authorities feel housing carnivores may boost the footfall. At present, the zoo houses black bucks, spotted deer, four-horned antelopes, crocodiles and several species of birds.
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Once the mini zoo gets approval from the CZA, the animals will be sourced from other zoos in Karnataka. There are eight zoos excluding Rani Chennamma and sourcing will happen based on the availability of animals in the zoos. The zoo authority will erect hoardings on national highway from Belagavi to Butaramanahatti to promote tourism
