Pair of chinkaras brought in from Gwalior to fill void
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The Pioneer
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New Delhi
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26 Apr 2012
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Almost four months after the death of four chinkaras inside the enclosure, the Delhi Zoo got a pair of antelopes of the same specie from the Gwalior Zoo.
The zoo was left with just one female antelope after the others were killed in January. The animals have come to the zoo as a part of animal exchange program. The zoo has also received a pair of hippopotamus, wolf and wild hog deer as a part of this exchange.
Four gazelles, including two females, had died in the zoo on January 4 when stray dogs had entered the enclosure and killed them.
“We had been waiting for the gazelle for quite some time now. We still need one more female so that we can maintain the male- female ratio of the animal,” Zoo Veterinary, Dr N Pannneer Salvam said. The animals came to the zoo about a week ago. The zoo authorities are now likely to breed the antelope to increase their number.
Besides the gazelle the Delhi Zoo has also received a pair of white bucks and a pair of hog deer from Chhatbir Zoo, Chandigarh, hippopotamus from Gwalior Gandhi Zoo and a pair of wolves is expected to come from Jaipur Zoological Garden earlier next month.
In return, the zoo has given its white tigers and cobras to these zoos. “We have the highest number of white tigers in the country. We have given them to these zoos,” the curator of the zoo, RA Khan said. However, now after giving away the white tigers, the zoo wants to breed more of them. “We had about 22 white tigers in the zoo. There number was so big that we had no space to breed them further. Now after giving out tigers to other zoos we have the space to breed them again,” said the vet. The zoo has a total of 11 white tigers now.
“All these tigers are between 8 to 10 years and in ideal breeding age. We will be starting their breeding process soon,” the doctor added.
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