Two Blue Sheep fawns born at Darjeeling Zoo

DARJEELING: Amid the shut down owing to the pandemic, there is some reason to cheer at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (Pnhzp) popular as Darjeeling Zoo. Two blue sheep fawns were born at the Dowhill Breeding Centre under the Pnhzp in Kurseong.

"The fawns were born to Angelina and Sita. The mothers and the fawns are in the best of health and spirit. This increases their count to 14," stated Dharam Deo Rai, Director, Pnhzp. Three fawns were born in July last year.

Incidentally in November 2009, the Pnhzp had become the first zoo in the country to boast of blue sheep. Two pairs had then arrived from the Okinawa Zoo, Japan as part of an exchange programme.

The Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur) or Bharal is a wild sheep found in the Himalayas at an altitude between

3660-5500m. It feeds on coarse grass, moss and dwarf shrubs. PNHZP founded in 1958, is famous for its successful captive breeding of endangered, high altitude species namely the snow leopard, red panda and Tibetan wolf.