1st May - Save the Rhino Day

This is Shiva, the lone rhino, who has been kept in solitary confinement for 32 long years at the Byculla Zoo in Mumbai, now known as Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan. We are using this photo (courtesy Mumbai Mirror of April 27, 2008) to show all of you to what extent this rhino has suffered. Somehow, somewhere, he has been deprived of his horn.
Over the years, many people have made efforts to help improve the quality of his life. The HC granted him the freedom to go to Ranchi Zoo, where a mate had been found for him. But at the last minute, the trip was cancelled as a political party declared that Shiva was not going anywhere. He was the only rhino in Maharashtra and therefore was the pride of this State.
Another attempt to bring a companion for him also fell through, as the Central Zoo Authority found his enclosure too small to accommodate two rhinos.
This year Shiva has been declared too old for any companionship so he will languish in this state till the day he dies.
We are writing to the authorities to enrich his surroundings, (which have always been dull and drab,) to at least make his life more interesting. If you stay in Mumbai, please pay Shiva a visit. If you find anything lacking in his surroundings, like greenary, plenty of cool areas, a spacious pool of clean water for him to bathe in and so on, do complain to the Zoo authorities on Shiva's behalf. Every little effort helps and this animal has suffered too much for too long.