Two leopards from Bengal Safari: North Bengal Wild Animal Park in Siliguri reached the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata today. Both the leopards are around one-year-old, it is learnt. “As part of the animal exchange programme, we have sent a female leopard, Nayan, and male leopard, Sisir, to the Alipore Zoo,” Dharam Deo Rai, the director of the park said here today.

There are now five leopards remaining in the Bengal Safari: North Bengal Wild Animal Park. Director of the Alipore Zoo, Ashish Samanta, said the animals arrived there in the morning. “They will be kept in quarantine for some days,” Mr Samanta said over the phone. Mr Rai said they were, meanwhile, planning to bring in a tiger at the park. “A tiger will be brought in the park, while the detailed plans are being chalked out,” Mr Rai said.

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There are four tigers in the park presently–three female and one male. Among the four tigers, two are cubs- -Rika, Kika-and the two adult ones are Sheela and Vivan. Earlier on 13 March, a male tiger, Snehasis, was sent to the Alipore Zoo to help captive breeding there.

The park is spread over an area of 290 hectares on the fringes of the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Apart from the leopards and tigers, it houses a one-horned Rhino, two Himalayan black Bear, Elephants, Gharials (fish-eating crocodiles), deer of different species and an aviary.