Kolkata: There is some good news for the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Garden at Darjeeling in West Bengal, as new members have been added to the list of exotic fauna species at the garden.
Two red pandas namely Nira and Teesta have given birth to two cubs each at Singalila National Park in Darjeeling and a 13-year snow leopard, Zima, has given birth to a cub within the zoo premises.
Although the developments happened some days back, the matter was officially communicated by the zoo authorities on Friday through its official X handle.
Confirming the arrival of new members, the State Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick said that this is extremely good news for the animal lovers.
“These two pandas who gave birth to two cubs each were zoo bred but later released to the wild heralds marks the success of an experiment of the zoo authorities to increase the population of the red pandas. At the same time, the event of Zima, which belongs to the endangered species of snow leopards, giving the birth of a cub and that too at the age of 13 is a welcome development.”
Nira and Teesta, the two red pandas, were released in the wilds of Singalila National Park in December last year.
“Both of them were zoo-bred and they gave birth to two cubs each after mating with the wild red pandas.
“We are carefully monitoring the cubs from a distance without disturbing the other animals at the national park,” the Forest Minister said.
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Garden at Darjeeling is the coordinating zoo for Project Red Panda in India.
–IANS