For the pet for whom he is looking for a home is his beloved Sultan, a strapping six-year-old African lion!

Sultan is currently unemployed and therefore lonely. Sorcar Jr, son of the late and legendary magician, P C Sorcar, has dropped the lion act from the list of his tricks.

Sorcar says there is absolutely no problem for him to continue to keep the majestic animal. He says the animal is no burden to him as it consumes just eight kilograms of boiled meat daily.

Sultan is now confined to an enclosure at the Sorcars' Baruipur home in South 24 Parganas district. Sorcar's concern is about his pet's loneliness. Sultan is the offspring of a lioness that Sorcar Sr had carefully selected selected and brought from Africa in the early 1970s.

It proudly figured in the list of his regular items for about 22 years. The lioness died a fewyears ago. Sorcar says Sultan needs a mate to overcome his loneliness. But it is not easy these days to overcome legal hurdles and buy animals.

Moreover, he says, he is always on the move and cannot afford to carry two lions along. Besides, Sultan's acceptance of any mate cannot be guaranteed.Sorcar contacted the authorities of the Nandan Kanan Biological Park in Orissa. But they said they could not take Sultan in as the park was already brimming over and was finding it hard to feed the inmates. Sorcar was keen on Nandan Kanan because of its open-air environs.

The authorities at Nandan Kanan suggested Bokaro Zoo which, too, is open-air. The Bokaro authorities at first showed keen interest and said they had as good as taken Sultan in. But they subsequently informed Sorcar that the Central Zoo Authority had told them they could not accept an animal that belonged to an individual.

Adhir Das, director of the Alipore Zoo here, confirmed that no pet animal can be directly taken by a zoo from an individual. Hesaid the owner would first have to appeal to the chief wildlife warden and, on getting permission, a meeting could be held to take a decision on accepting a pet. He, however, added that since in this case, the pet belonged to the famous magician, there should not be a problem in fixing up such a meeting.

But would Sorcar agree to hand over his dear pet to Alipore Zoo, where scarcity of open space is well-known and where the present inmates are already languishing as if in prison? ``I do not feel encouraged to push my dear Sultan into such a place,'' Sorcar says.

As it is, Sultan posed no problem to him, he insists. But if no animal lover comes forward, he may have to insert an advertisement in newspapers soon for a home for Sultan, he adds.

Sultan's fate is very different from other ``retired'' performing animals in the country. Many of his kind are alleged to be subjected to harsh treatment, including starvation, leading to death in captivity.Indian and international animal rights organisations haveraised a hue and cry over the practice of leaving aged and ailing elephants to die after they can no longer work as timber movers.

Recently, the plight of an African lion, Vrinda, which was rescued in a paralysed condition from a circus, had made headlines. Such was the condition of the 15-year-old performing lion, which was kept in an enclosure that barely allowed it to stand erect, that veterinarians at one stage had suggested mercy killing.

Vrinda died in April. Obviously Sorcar does not want that to happen to Sultan. So he is prepared to wait until he finds the right home for his beloved pet.

--IANS