Do you know how many elephants there are at Byculla’s Jijamata Bhosale Udyan? Two. But do you know how many shrubs there are the zoo? Or what kind?

The questions would leave most scratching their heads. However, that might change soon. At a meeting chaired by Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta and attended by well-known botanist Dr M R Almeida and other officials from the zoo and garden department.

It was decided that a bio-diversity mapping of the zoo would be conducted. This would be the first exercise of its kind in the zoo’s 149-year history.The decision was taken after concerns were raised that that the Rs 433-crore makeover of the zoo would take a toll on the rich flora there.

“It has been decided to identify, classify, list and map every tree, shrub, creeper, herb and other important vegetation inside the 53-acre zoo. The biodiversity mapping will be carried out by a team under guidance of Dr Almeida and will be completed before August 15,” said Gupta.

He maintained that the mapping would help in keeping the basic characteristic of the botanical fauna intact while carrying out the makeover. “Once we have details of the vegetation, we will compare it with the map our architects had prepared and corrective steps will be taken to preserve the fauna if needed,” said Gupta.

Zoo officials said documentation of all vegetation, and steps taken to preserve it, will help the zoo get the much-awaited nod from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee for the makeover. The zoo’s director Anil Anjankar said, “The biodiversity report will be a great asset for us as not only we can preserve the existing flora but also try and enrich it in the future.”