Cheetahs, African lions arrive at zoo

The Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) received two African lions and an equal number of Cheetahs. A gift from Saudi Wildlife Authority, Saudi Arabia, the animals arrived in a cargo flight on Monday.

Saudi Prince, Bandar Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud had promised that he would gift African Lions and Cheetahs when he visited the zoo in October 2012 during COP-11 summit. Exactly after a year the promise is fulfilled. Saudi Wildlife Research Centre have sent these animals aged about 1 ½ years. These animals were brought by Rami Almanjumi and Faisal Sulaimani, scientists working at National Wildlife Research centre, Jeddah.

At present the Nehru zoo has Asiatic lions. P Mallikarjuna Rao, director, Nehru Zoological Park said, “We are very happy to receive this valuable gift from Saudi Government. We would be keeping the African lions in an enclosure close to the Asiatic lions as it would be educative for one and all.” Of late there is a renewed interest and many school managements are bringing students to the zoo. These animals are a valuable addition, he added.

They would be kept in a quarantine centre for a month and later be put on display.