Bhubaneswar: To attract more number tourists to the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP), the Forest Department has decided to bring a cheetah along with white lions from abroad in January next year, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) Susanta Nanda said today.
A cheetah and a few exotic white lions will be brought to Nandankanan from a zoo in Dubai under an animal exchange programme in January next year, Shri Nanda told reporters here.
This apart, some new species of birds will be brought to Nandankanan from abroad under the programme, he added.
Moreover, the authorities of NZP have planned to bring a few giraffes from Alipore Zoological Garden in West Bengal under another animal exchange programme, the PCCF Wildlife said.
After translocation of Cheetahs to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, for the first time, the Nandankanan Zoological Park in the capital city will get the world’s fastest mammal.
According to sources, the zoo plans to bring cheetahs in exchange for 5 Manipur brow-antlered deer, 2 male and 3 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 source said.