Two Siberian tigers — Lara & Akamas — finally reach Darjeeling Zoo from Cyprus
Darjeeling: Lara and Akamas arrived at their new homes in the mountains at around 9 pm on Sunday. Despite the long journey all the way from Cyprus, they were in good health and spirit.
Lara and Akamas are the two Siberian Tiger couple from the Pafos Zoo in Cyprus. They have been sent to the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park popular as Darjeeling Zoo in exchange of a male and female red panda from the Darjeeling Zoo.
The two tigers are one-and-a-half years old. “The tigers arrived by Cargo aircraft from Cyprus via Dubai at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport in Kolkata at around 8:30 pm on Saturday. From there they were transported to Darjeeling in two special ambulances. They reached Darjeeling zoo at around 9 pm on Sunday. They are in good health and spirit,” stated Basavaraj Holeyachi, Director, Pnhzp, while talking to Millennium Post.
A team from the Pnhzp, including veterinarians had accompanied the felines. “They will be kept in special enclosures in quarantine for a month before being moved to display enclosures if all is good,” added the Director.
Earlier, the Pnhzp used to have Siberian tigers. However, it has been years since the last of the tigers died of old age and since then the zoo has been devoid of Siberian tigers.
The Siberian Tiger is native to the Russian Far East and China. The tiger is rusty-yellow in colour, with narrow black transverse stripes. It has an extended supple body with short legs and a long tail. They are furry and suitable for
cold climates.
Founded in 1958, the Pnhzp was adjudged the best zoo in the country across all categories in September 2022. The Pnhzp is successfully engaged in the conservation breeding of 10 endangered species, including Red Panda, Snow Leopard, Blue Sheep, Himalayan Tahr, Himalayan Wolf, Salamander, Monal, Blood Pheasants, Satire Tragopan and Grey Peacock Pheasant.
The Pnhzp is the coordinating zoo for the conservation breeding of endangered red pandas. At present, the zoo has 9 male and 15 female red pandas.
