Alipore Zoo to trade giraffes with jaguars, lions from Hyd

Kolkata: Alipore Zoological Gardens will be soon sending two giraffes to Nehru Zoological Garden in Hyderabad in exchange for a pair of jaguars, two lions and six mouse deer that were procured in October 2017.

Giraffes are very much in demand in zoos across the country and the city zoo boasts of having a collection of as many as 10 giraffes.

"We have been able to do successful breeding of giraffes in the zoo, and currently, we have as many as 10 animals. We have procured two lions, two jaguars and six mouse deer against two giraffes which is a clear indication of the demand for these animals," said Asis Kumar Samanta, director of Alipore Zoo. According to sources in Alipore Zoo, the two giraffes — one male and one female are named Sunny and Bunty. Sunny was born in June 2015, while Bunty in February 2017.

"We will be taking all precautionary measures for transportation of the animals by low height trailers which is around 2,500 km by road. Two keepers from our zoo will accompany these animals that are very calm by nature. There will be arrangements for food and anti-stress medicines,"

Samanta said. The pair of jaguars, lions and mouse deer were kept in quarantine for a month and were set free in their enclosures sometime in December 2017.

The mouse deer is found in parts of Central India and it is after a span of more than three decades that these animals became a part of Alipore Zoo. The last female jaguar had died in Alipore zoo in 2013 after a prolonged illness.

The two pure Asiatic lions, which are hybrids of African and Asiatic lion have already emerged as the prime attraction for the visitors. The two lions in the zoo are aged and are hardly put on display.