This mating season, Alipore Zoo mulls bringing 1 Royal Bengal Tiger from Siliguri

Kolkata: The Alipore Zoological Gardens is banking on one of the two Royal Bengal Tigers at Siliguri Safari Park for augmenting the tiger population in the city zoo. The male tiger from Siliguri will be brought for a certain period and after successful mating it will be sent back.

"Tigers remain compatible for mating from the age of 5 to a maximum of 9 years. However, all our male tigers are over the age of 10 years. Hence, we are making arrangements to bring a Royal Bengal Tiger from Siliguri Safari Park for breeding," said Asis Kumar Samanta, director of Alipore

Zoological Gardens.

The Alipore Zoo has a population of seven tigers — four females and three males. Three of these male are white tigers.

However, their efforts to have the male mate with their female counterparts have proved to be futile

According to a senior zoo official, one of the two male tigers in Siliguri, Snehasish was taken there in 2016 from Alipore zoo itself.

Another one was brought from Rourkela. Both of them are in the age group of six to

eight years.

Among the three female big cats in Alipore, Rupa and Rani are both over 10 years of age. Payel is six years old. "The plan is to mate Payel with one of the two that will be brought from Siliguri. Snehasish has had earlier spent time with Payel during his tryst in our zoo. So, if we are given a choice we will go for him. But the authorities of Siliguri Safari Park will take the call on this," a senior official of the Alipore zoo said.

The city zoo authorities will also bring two more leopards from South Khayerbari in North Bengal to add to its existing population of two leopards.

"We are taking all possible measures to bring the big cat and the leopards by December. The best time for mating is during winters," Samanta maintained.

The Gubbay House at Alipore Zoo is being refurbished into a nocturnal house.

The zoo authorities have plans to unveil it for the visitors in the winter itself.