Mumbai's Byculla zoo got 8 penguins from Seoul,South Korea

Mumbai's Byculla zoo have got some new residents -- eight penguins, which have come all the way from South Korea's Seoul.

Special arrangements have been made for the birds, some species of which thrive in the sub-zero temperature of Antarctica.

The Byculla birds are Humboldt penguins -- originally from the cold currents near South America's Peru and Chile. 

For now, a quarantined space measuring 200 sq ft has been dedicated for the flightless birds. The temperature of the enclosure will be maintained anywhere between 14-15 degrees Celsius.

After over 2 months, they are likely to be shifted to an exhibit enclosure area of 1,700 sq feet. The Byculla Zoo staff are being trained for months now to take care of the birds.

The arrival of the birds follows a two-year wrangling between animal rights activists and the Mumbai civic body - the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC.

In 2014, the BMC had announced its plan to showcase the penguins in Mumbai.
But the activists questioned the civic body's capability to maintain the penguins, citing issues like water crisis, and the lack of training among the BMC-appointed zoo staff.

So far, the civic body has spent nearly Rs. 2.5 crore to acquire the birds and over a whopping Rs19 crore for their maintenance.

"The penguins will be kept under observation for 2-3 months and after seeing how well they adjust here, we will take a call. We will submit a report to Central Zoo authority of India and they will decide then," said a BMC official.