Two elephants at Lucknow zoo to go to wilds

Two elephants of Lucknow Zoo will go to the wilds following directives from Central Zoo Authority (CZA), zoo authorities said here today.

"We will be sending the elephants--Sumit and Jaimala-- back to either national parks, sanctuaries, rehabilitation camps or tiger reserves after CZA circular reached here yesterday," a zoo official told PTI.

The CZA circular has stated that elephants need a lot of space to move as they are large herbivores and conditions in the zoo might not be fit for their existence.

According to an estimate, as on March 2009, there are a total of 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses all over the country, the official said.