Tirupati: Visitors to the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (SVZP) here can now view faces from the animal kingdom from close quarters.
The animal exchange programme between the SV zoo park and the Kanpur zoological park or allen forest zoo brought new attractions this summer. Various animals were inducted into the zoo and some were put up for display in enclosures.
With the new attractions, the carnivore population at the SVZP, which is spread over 5,532 acres, crossed 1,110. In all, the SVZP is home for nearly 88 species.
According to SVZP officials, a female asiatic lion, a male white tiger, a pair of chinkaras, three muscovy ducks, three swamp deer, a pair of hog deer and a pair of kalij pheasant were the new animals inducted into the SV zoo park.
In exchange, a pair of Indian Gaur, a female white tiger, three wild dogs, three white ibis and three grey pelicans were given to the Kanpur zoo park, deemed to be one of the largest in North India and having a stock of 1,400 animals of 125 different species.
“Since SVZP has white tigers and wild dogs of opposite genders, we have exchanged them for inbreeding and blood exchange among the species. Some animals received through the animal exchange programmes are yet to complete the quarantine period, while some are already presented to visitors in their respective enclosures”, a zoo official said.
Meanwhile, P. Selvam, curator of SV zoo park, said they would receive more animals from other zoo parks under the animal exchange programme this financial year. “We have submitted applications to obtain a Royal Bengal tiger from Kolkata zoo. Similarly, we approached the Tata zoological park for Mandrill, and the Visakhapatnam zoo for several other animals,” he said.
Despite this, curator Selvam said that a bid to obtain a Hippopotamus from Trivandrum Zoo Park was approved. An enclosure would be prepared before it can be shifted here. A plan to obtain a wolf from the Chennai Zoo has been accepted.
To a query, the curator said that the zoo intends to bring giraffes to the SVZP, which will need a significant investment. “If someone comes up with a financial proposal of roughly Rs 2.5 to 3 crore via a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project or so, the zoo can consider it,” he stated.
