Akash, the two-year-old male lion who has, quite literally, limped back to a normal life, will soon bid goodbye to the Thiruvananthapuram zoo.
As part of an exchange programme the lion, who was nursed back to health from the brink of death, will be given over to the Thrissur zoo.
Good recovery
Not all that long ago, there was even talk that Akash may be subject to mercy killing, given that his limbs were paralysed. “There was a time when the small lion could not even move. Now, he can stand and he can move about. Initially, we had introduced him into the lion enclosure with his family. However, his father started behaving in an aggressive manner towards him. It was then that we decided that we can’t risk having Akash here. Also, a lion is a long-standing demand from Thrissur,” a zoo official said.
To Thrissur
Along with Akash, a pair of African grey parrots, a pair of silver pheasants, and a pair of small Indian kites will make their way to Thrissur. In return, the city zoo will get a pair of common sand boa and a pair of Indian crested porcupines.
