To attract more tourists to the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP), the Forest Department has decided to bring a cheetah along with a few white lions from abroad in January next, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda has informed.
The cheetah and the exotic white lions would be brought to Nandankanan from a zoo in Dubai under an animal exchange programme, Nanda told reporters here.
This apart, some new species of birds would be brought to Nandankanan from abroad under the programme, he said.
Moreover, the authorities of NZP have planned to bring a few giraffes from the Alipore Zoological Garden in West Bengal under another animal exchange programme, he informed.
After translocation of cheetahs to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, for the first time, Nandankanan will get the world’s fastest mammal.
According to sources, the zoo plans to bring cheetahs in exchange for five Manipur brow-antlered deer, two male and three female.
The zoo is also planning to bring five African white lions, two male and three female, by exchanging five blackbucks, two male and three female, with Dubai.
Besides, two chimpanzees may be brought in exchange of two hippopotamuses and six ring-tailed lemurs in exchange of four hog deer, the sources said.