In hopes of finding a partner, Shiva the rhino leaves for Delhi zoo

Mumbai: Zookeepers at Mumbai's Jijamata Udyaan treated their beloved Shiva to his favourite sugarcane and bananas for one last time, before bidding farewell to the 34 year old rhinoceros. Shiva is set to move to Delhi, where two female rhinos await a mate.

This is a new beginning for Shiva, confined to forced celibacy after being brought to the Mumbai zoo as a six-year old calf in 1985. Zoo Rules 2009 necessitates every single animal to be paired with a mate, either by a transfer or an exchange, if unpaired for more than six months.

Shiva's journey to Delhi by road will take four days in a cage, sized just enough for him to stand and sit, to stop him from moving violently. Speaking to NDTV, Mumbai's zoo superintendent Anil Anjankar said, "Similar transfers have occurred earlier, and getting the animal into the cage from his enclosure is a challenge by itself. When Shiva couldn't be lured in by food baits, we placed his own dung in the cage- a familiar scent that would comfort him into walking into the cage."

The rhino, however, was not pleased as his heavy grunts and growls could be heard through the cage perched on a truck. The journey will be the least of Shiva's concerns given what lies ahead. Shiva could be considered at the end of his hormonal peak, since the life expectancy of captive rhinos is considered to be up to 45 years. Selvam, the veterinary officer supervising the transit told NDTV, "We are hopeful that Shiva will breed successfully, we observed him this morning, and his reproductive mechanism seemed to be in good health."

Shiva could have mated earlier with a cow-rhino from the Patna zoo, but the authorities refused her transfer over the poor conservation record of the Mumbai Zoo.

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There are hopes, though, that Shiva's calves will be given to the Mumbai zoo in a breeding agreement, bringing back memories of their father, the sole captive male Rhino, once a prized member of the Mumbai zoo.

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