Bengal Safari Park to welcome dusky leaf monkeys in January

Siliguri: Bengal Safari Park, the wild-animal park of Siliguri, is all set to welcome new animals in the new year. The park authorities will bring dusky leaf monkeys, an exotic species of monkey found mostly in Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, along with lions to the park in January.

The animals will be brought under the animal exchange programme.

Two lions and a few dusky leaf monkeys will be brought from Tripura Zoo. In exchange, Bengal Safari Park will give two Royal Bengal Tigers and two leopards to Tripura Zoo.

Kamal Sarkar, Director of Bengal Safari Park said: “The exchange phase of Bengal Safari Park with Tripura Zoo comes to an end.

We are waiting for the approval of the Central Zoo Authority. Once we get the approval, the animals will be brought to the park. We are hopeful that we will be able to release the animals for visitors within the first week of January.”

The process of bringing the animals is already going on in full swing. Lion Safari enclosure and night shelters have been constructed on 20 acres of land, along with an enclosure for monkeys. Authorities from Tripura Zoo have already visited the park and inspected preparations. Similarly, Bengal Safari Park authorities also went to Tripura Zoo to learn about the habitat and diet of dusky leaf monkeys and lions.

Dusky leaf monkeys, also known as spectacled langur or spectacled leaf monkey, are a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand and can occasionally be found in Singapore.

The attraction of the monkey is that they have white circles around their eyes like specs. The body is black and gray.

Currently, the park has 13 Royal Bengal Tigers, gharials (fish-eating crocodiles), various types of deer, Himalayan black bears, rhinos, leopards etc. After exchanging animals, 11 Royal Bengal Tigers will remain at the park.