Jaya wants to exchange Indian gaurs for rhinos from Assam

Intending to increase its collection of animals kept in captivity, Tamil Nadu, which houses the largest zoo in South Asia, today requested the Assam government to exchange a pair of Indian gaur for a couple of greater one-horned rhinoceros.
"I request you to spare one pair of greater one-horned rhinoceros in exchange for one pair of Indian gaur," Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote to her counterpart in Assam, Tarun Gogoi.
Observing that the Indian gaur was the flagship animal in the state, she said Tamil Nadu had sufficient number of Indian gaur (Indian bison), which can be given in exchange to Assam.

Jayalalithaa, also the chairman of Zoo Authority of Tamil Nadu, said, "Considering the number of visitors to the zoo and the popularity of the Indian rhinoceros, it would be very fitting if Vandalur Zoo could once again have these animals in our collection."
The zoo in Vandalur did not have the representation of the one-horned mammal since 1989, she said.
Spread over 1,490 acres in the city suburbs, the Anna Arignar Zoological Park (AAZP) at Vandalur houses over 1400 individual animals consisting of 143 species.
Categorised as a 'large zoo' based on species diversity, number of endangered species and area, AAZP also receives a footfall of more than two million annually.