Pair of lions if found medically fit will be shifted to display cage
| Date :03-Feb-2020 |
Staff Reporter :
In an effort to bring the pair of lions in display cage, Van Vihar National Park has decided to do medical test of ‘Satya’ and ‘Nandi’ on February 6 and 7. If the lions are found medically fit then they will be shifted to the display cage for tourists. Currently, both the lions are in a quarantine enclosure where they have adopted to the new place.
The pair of lions has been brought to the park to re-start breeding project. A few more lions will be brought to the park after a few days as these two lions are sibling and they cannot mate each other. Deputy Director of Van Vihar A K Jain said that as per guidelines of NTCA an animal is kept in quarantine for at least 21 days after translocation. He said doctors of the park will do medical test of lions to take a final decision about their shifting to cage. It will take about one week to shift the lion from quarantine to cage. He said officials are trying to bring another pair of lions from Indore and Junagarh to start the breeding programme. Besides, health of the leopard rescued from Sukhi Sewaniya is improving.
The leopard was severely injured after being entangled in a trap plotted by poachers. Officials said that leopard is being treated with antibiotics and he will be cured soon. They said the leopard will be released into the wild after curing as he is not a zoo animal. The pair of lions were brought to the park from Kanan Pendari Zoo, Bilaspur on January 16. Officials including Van Vihar Director Kamalika Mohanty and Wildlife Veterinarian Atul Gupta visited Nandankanan Zoo at Bilaspur to see the pair of lions. Lion Satya and lioness Nandi are four years old.
Van Vihar officials informed that both the lions belong to the same mother lioness ‘Varsha’. Currently, Van Vihar has three lions and all of them have completed their average life tenure. There are two male Montu and Lamba and one female Varu. On April 15, 2017, Van Vihar brought four lions from Assam in which lioness Vrinda died. Van Vihar is looking for pair of lions for past two years. Earlier, a proposal was made to bring lion from Assam. A team of experts also visited Assam to choose lion for translocation but the deal could not be finalised.