Bengaluru, Apr 29 (IANS): Amid the coronavirus lockdown, bull giraffe Yadunandan from Mysuru zoo joined his consort Gowri at the Bengaluru zoo recently as their mating season kicked off, an official said on Wednesday.

"As the 4-year-old Gowri has been alone and looking for companion, we have ferried Yaudunandan from Sri Chamarajendra zoological garden in Mysuru to our zoo on April 24 so that they could get to know each other and mate," a Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park official told IANS here.

Mysuru is 150km southwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.

Gowri, who was also in Mysuru zoo earlier, moved to Bengaluru in April 2018, as there was no other tallest mammal (giraffe) in the city's zoo, located on the southern outskirts.

"As Mysuru zoo has 7 giraffes, it has spared Yadunandan to pair with Gowri in our zoo under the animal exchange programme for pairing and conservation education," BBBP zoo executive director Vanishree Vipin Singh said in a statement here.

Yadunandan was born to Krishnaraja and Babbly in Mysuru zoo 15 months ago and has grown tall enough to mate with Gowri.

"When we released Yadunandan in the giraffe enclosure, Gowri walked up to him. Both are also responding to each other and seem to be compatible," said Singh.

A popular tourist destination in the tech city, the zoo has been shut for all visitors since the lockdown was enforced on March 25 and extended on April 15 to May 3.

"Animal caretakers, staff and veterinary doctors are working to maintain the zoo, its flora and fauna," the official added.

Set up in 1970 near the Bannerghatta forest in 1970, the 5-decade-old sprawling zoo was declared a national park in 1974 and a part of it was converted into a biological reserve in 2002 for its rich bio-diversity.

Besides a variety of animals and birds, the zoo has a safari park, a a butterfly enclosure, an aquarium, a snake house, a pet corner and an animal rescue centre.