Features of the Zoo

This museum has a long history as it was set up during the year 1863. The word Sakkar means sugar and Baug means garden. History has it that this zoo got this name because of the presence of a garden having sweet water in its premises. Set up at a sprawling 200 hectares, this zoo is located in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. This zoo originally housed Asiatic lions but as the years progressed, this species of lion became extinct and is the only place where Asiatic lions are found in the world, which at the Gir National Park in Gujarat.

During 2003, an interesting museum was set up in the zoo where skeletons of animals like lion, deer, panther, blackbuck, antelope, spotted deer, blue bull and wild boar are exhibited. There is also a huge collection of beaks, eggs and quills of different varieties of birds that are exhibited for public view. Five years later a management committee was formed to look after the finance and administrative affairs of the zoo. This committee comprised of 10 members and was known as Sakkarbaug Zoo Management Advisory Society.

The one cheetah that was left in the zoo died during 1946 and ever since, the zoo was looking to welcome cheetahs into its abode. This objective materialised during 2009 when it exchanged two lions from its collection and got 4 African Cheetahs from the Singapore Zoo. With this, the zoo becomes the first in India to have African Cheetahs.

Two years later after this exchange, the Sakkarbaug again got into an agreement with the Mysore zoo, where two Asiatic lions were given away for green pheasants, giant squirrels from Malabar, Indian gaur and marmosets. The enclosures of the zoo did in come in for some flak from the concerned authorities, however the zoo officials have assured to increase the space of these closures and to make them Central Zoo Authority of India compliant by the end of 2013.

As per a statistics taken during 2008 there were around 100 enclosures that housed mammals, reptiles and birds of numbers of 525, 111 and 527 respectively. During 1998, this zoo was involved in the breeding program for the Asiatic lions and vultures with white backs.

Timings and Entry Fee

The Sakkarbaug zoo is open all through the week except Wednesdays from 9AM to 6.30PM. Indians need to pay Rs 10 and foreign nationals need to pay Rs 50 as entry fees to get into the zoo.

How to Reach

By Air

Though Keshod is the nearest airport to the zoo at a distance of 40km away, it is not preferred by most people, as it is not well-connected to the other cities in the country. Hence most of them choose the other airport that is nearby, Ahmedabad, which is also an international airport with excellent connectivity to other places.

By Train

The nearest railway station to the Sakkarbaug Zoo is Junagadh. There are lots of mails, passenger and express trains that keep going to and from this station to other major cities in the country.

By Road

The bus network in Junagadh is quite impressive as the frequency of buses from here to most of the important cities in nearby states is high and continuous. These buses are comfortable and there are government and private-owned buses that run to and from Junagadh.