Darjeeling Zoo to Welcome Siberian Tigers, Bengal Safari Park to Start Lion Safari

Two Siberian tigers will be housed in the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling, while two lions will be brought to the Bengal Safari Park, which is located outside of Siliguri, by December so that it may start a lion safari.

Both zoological park officials have said that they anticipate the new arrivals arriving by the end of the next month.

"The night shelters, crawl space, and lion cage are nearly finished. The director of the North Bengal Wild Animals Park, sometimes referred to as the Bengal Safari Park, Kamal Sarkar, said on Friday that the park intends to open a lion safari starting the next month. There are two more lions on the way.

It is located along NH31 about 9 km from Siliguri and is the only open-air zoological park in north Bengal. It occupies 297 hectares of space. The 20-hectare area would house the projected lion safari.

Known as one of chief government Mamata Banerjee's favorite projects, the park has gained a great deal of attention, particularly for its work rearing Royal Bengal Tigers in captivity. Its safari rides, which provide the chance to see Asiatic black bears, leopards, and rhinos, as well as its outdoor aviary and gharial enclosure—which houses fish-eating crocodiles—are key draws for tourists.

"All paperwork required by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to purchase two pairs of lions has been completed. Negotiations are underway to get the lions from the Raipur Zoo in Tripura and a few other northeastern states. In addition, two lions from the Alipore Zoological Park in Calcutta will be brought here, according to Sarkar.

The PNHZP in Darjeeling's director, Dr. Basavaraj Holeyachi, announced that two Siberian tigers will be arriving there the next month.

By the end of the next month, two Siberian tigers should arrive at the park. We will be obtaining the pair via the animal-exchange program from the Paphos Zoological Park in Cyprus. A pair of Himalayan red pandas will be traded for the tigers, the director said.

Out of over 130 zoological parks in India, the CZA named the zoological park in the Darjeeling hills the greatest zoo in the nation in 2022.

It was founded on August 14, 1958, and since then, its conservation and captive breeding initiatives for red pandas, snow leopards, and other endangered Himalayan animal species have won it attention on a global scale.

There are now 25 red pandas and one Siberian tiger in the park, according to Holeyachi.