African lions to be auctioned

Safari Park is auctioning animals due to high costs of feeding them

LAHORE:

Pakistan’s largest wildlife safari park has decided to auction 12 African lions. The decision was taken amid an increase in the number of lions in the park, causing difficulties for management to meet their food needs.

Lahore Safari Park currently has a total of 40 big cats, including 29 African tigers, three white tigers, two jaguars and six tigers.

According to the management, a lion or tiger is fed at seven to 10kgs of meat per day. An animal is fed meat for 22 days in a month and starved for two days a week.

In total, a tiger eats meat worth over Rs85,000 in a month. Safari Park Deputy Director Tanveer Ahmad Janjua said that they had decided to auction some of the lions.

The auction will be open and any registered breeder or contractor could buy them. This will not only reduce the monthly expenses, but also solve the problem of overcrowding in the park.

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He added that the official rate of an African tiger is Rs150,000, which will be the starting price at the auction. The highest bidder will be able to purchase the African lion. Hopefully the lions will sell for a good price, Janjua added.

According to the organisers, due to the large number of tigers, there were also breeding problems.

Pregnant tigresses have to be kept in separate cages, but there is not enough space.

Additionally, lions and tigresses live in groups consisting of two females and one male.

These groups are kept in separate cages. If separated, they fight with males from other groups. The trend of breeding lions has increased significantly in the last few years.

Many citizens keep tigers in their homes and farmhouses along with other wild animals and birds, usually as a status symbol.