PM Modi Interacts with Lions and Tigers, Plays with Cubs at Jamnagar’s Vantara – Photos Inside

PM Modi Interacts with Lions and Tigers: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited and inaugurated Vantara, an animal rescue, conservation and rehabilitation centre located in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat, on Tuesday.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita Ambani, their son Anant Ambani and daughter-in-law Radhika Merchant were also present at the inauguration.

Vantara is home to more than 2,000 species and over 1.5 lakh rescued, endangered, and threatened animals. This 3,000-acre sanctuary focuses on animal welfare and conservation. It was initiated by Anant Ambani, director on the boards of RIL and Reliance Foundation.

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A PMO release said that Modi explored various facilities at the centre and closely interacted with various species of animals which have been rehabilitated there.

PM Modi had the opportunity to interact with a variety of rescued animals, including Asiatic Lion cubs, a White Lion cub, a rare Clouded Leopard cub, and Caracals—a species once abundant in India but now rarely seen in the wild.

He toured the advanced veterinary hospital, which features MRI and CT scan facilities, intensive care units, and specialized medical departments covering wildlife anesthesia, cardiology, nephrology, endoscopy, and internal medicine. At the hospital, he observed an Asiatic Lion undergoing an MRI scan and a leopard undergoing life-saving surgery after being rescued from a highway accident.

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The White Lion cub which was fed by PM Modi was born at the centre after his mother was rescued and brought to Vantara for care. The Caracals, which were once in abundance in India, are now becoming a rare sight. In Vantara, Caracals are bred under a breeding programme in captivity for their preservation and are released in the wild later.

"PM had several close interactions with various ferocious animals. He sat face to face with Golden Tiger, 4 Snow Tigers who were brothers and were rescued from a circus where they were made to perform tricks, White Lion and Snow Leopard," read the PMO release.

PM patted an Okapi, came face to face with Chimpanzees in open who were got from a facility where they were kept as pets, hugged and lovingly played with Orangutan who were earlier kept in an over crowded facility, saw up close a Hippopotamus which was under water, saw crocodiles, undertook a walk in between Zebras, fed a Giraffe and a Rhino calf, it said. The one-horned rhino calf was orphaned as her mother died at the facility.

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