Hyderabad Zoo to get kangaroos, zebras from Vantara
HYDERABAD: Children, families and wildlife enthusiasts visiting the Nehru Zoological Park will soon get to see kangaroos for the first time, with the Hyderabad Zoo preparing to receive the Australian species under an animal exchange programme.
A pair of kangaroos will be brought from Vantara, a global wildlife rescue and conservation centre run by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Zoo authorities said enclosures and a night house have already been readied.
A team from Vantara, led by director Brij Kishor Gupta, recently inspected the zoo’s facilities and infrastructure.
“This is the first time the zoo will have kangaroos. We will shortly receive one male and one female from Vantara. After arrival, they will be quarantined for a few days before being put on display,” a senior Nehru Zoological Park official said.
In exchange, the Hyderabad Zoo will send one of its elephants to Vantara. The zoo had earlier planned to bring four kangaroos from Yokohama Zoological Gardens in Japan in 2020, but the agreement was shelved due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Sunny, a male giraffe currently housed alone at the zoo, is set to get a female companion. Senior officials recently visited the Mysuru Zoo and finalised the exchange. “We are expecting the giraffe by the end of this month,” an official said.
The zoo currently houses 199 species, with more than 2,200 animals and birds.
Separately, the zebra enclosure is also set to become livelier. The zoo will soon receive a pair of zebras from Vantara, adding to the existing three zebras two males and one female already brought from the facility. Zebras returned to the Hyderabad Zoo after a gap of 37 years.
The zoo is also planning to add a pair of wallabies, smaller kangaroo-like animals that grow to about three feet tall, compared to kangaroos that can reach up to eight feet.
