Calcutta, Aug. 4: Move over Ferrari, the jaguar is here. Not the car, but the cat — the big cat.

After today, the one who has a Jaguar in his garage will lose the bragging rights to the one who has a jaguar in their enclosure, at the Alipore Zoo.

Calcutta’s rich and famous — and the not-so-rich and not-so-famous — turned out in full strength and in their Sunday best at the banquet hall of a five-star hotel to get their name tagged to a tiger or a lion. Not to speak of the peacock, of course, that ultimate preener.

The zoo put up over 100 animals split into seven categories for adoption, with costs ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh a year. At the end of the day, many aspiring parents were left empty-handed, such was the scramble. But, at the same time, half of the animals up for adoption were left orphans with no takers for them. Perhaps because their social standing was lighter than that of the elephant or the rhino.

The front rows in the banquet hall glittered with industrialists and politicians, socialites and actors as the adoption programme began with the animals being displayed on a screen. Soon, the organisers had to bring in extra chairs.

So what was all the mad rush about? For some, the animal had to be of a kind they could “emotionally connect with”.

Vaishali, daughter of Jagmohan Dalmiya, picked the “classy, stylish and swift” jaguar.

“I’m an animal activist. I’m a member of PFA (People for Animals). I have six pet dogs and a horse,” she said. “I’d love to buy a Jaguar car some day but I’m happier adopting the animal — it can’t be compared with owning any object.”

Social activist and “tiger lover” Sundeep Bhutoria will let his wife name the one he chose, though the big cat may soon start answering to “Party Animal”.

“I adopted the tiger for my wife; so I’ll let her name it. Then we’ll throw a party to celebrate the adoption at the zoo, if that’s allowed, or else at Taj Bengal,” Bhutoria said.

“We received more than 60 applications within days of the announcement (in the last week of July), which far exceeded our expectations,” acting zoo director Vinod Kumar Yadav said.

Along with the swish set, the event drew ordinary families with children in tow.

Avi Batliwala, a teacher at La Martiniere for Boys, gifted her daughter Tanya the only (baby) kangaroo in the country: “She wanted something small that she could see grow in front of her eyes.”

Entrepreneur Sandip Sinha Roy had written to The Telegraph that he wanted to adopt a zebra for his wife and a leopard for his eight-year-old daughter. The wife was unlucky — the four zebras had already been snapped up.

Those with kids had better watch out. For their next birthday, they could well ask for a zoo animal as gift. And in any future round, the prices will certainly be higher.

“We kept the adoption rates low because we didn’t expect such an overwhelming response,” a zoo official sighed.

For instance, the annual maintenance cost for a tiger is Rs 5 lakh but the adoption fee was pegged at Rs 1.5 lakh. Still, the zoo ended the day richer by Rs 30 lakh.

Emami co-owners R.S. Agarwal and R.S. Goenka together adopted a tiger and an elephant for Rs 1.5 lakh each. “I possess about 10 paintings and sculptures (valued at several crores), but adopting a tiger is unique,” Agarwal modestly said.

Lake Road resident Arinjan Mazumdar took up five animals, the highest number, paying Rs 4.3 lakh. “I have loads of pets at home,” said the businessman, who drives an Audi A6.

“The best thing about adopting these animals is that every time I want to see them, it’s I who’ll have to go to them despite the fact that I’m paying the adoption money. Such a humbling experience,” Mazumdar said.

The zoo authorities have arranged for many more such humbling experiences — in the form of a list of dos and don’ts.

For instance, any “owner” who wants to show off his latest acquisition to his friends can only do so on a weekday, and cannot bring more than four people.

Touching or cuddling one’s adopted animal or posing for photographs with it is a no-no. One must stand outside the cage, with other visitors who may have paid only for an entry ticket.

Nor can one take the animal out on a stroll, but the zoo will allow the name of the “owner” or his company logo to be displayed on the enclosure. They can also use the photograph of their adopted one in newspaper and magazine ads and on their website.

Not all the talk today was about the owners, though — the animals’ rights too got an airing.

Sanjay Budhia, managing director of the Patton Group, put in a plea to zoo officials about the lone one-horned rhinoceros he has adopted: “Please try to get him a companion.”

Going by today’s experience, money should be no bar.