Three leopards were brought to the Alipore Zoological Gardens here to augment the aging population of spotted big cats, officials said on Tuesday.
“We have brought the leopards from the Khayerbari Animal Rescue Centre. They have been relocated because the population of leopards at the zoo is aging,” Raju Das, director of the zoo, told The Hindu .
The new entrants include two female and one male leopard aged between two and 10. There are now six leopards in the zoo.
The authorities are not contemplating further addition to prevent overcrowding of the enclosures, Mr. Das added. The Kheyaerbari Animal Rescue Centre in Jalpaiguri district looked after abandoned leopard cubs, said S.B. Mondal, the State's chief wildlife warden.
Found abandoned
“Often leopard cubs are found abandoned in the tea gardens in north Bengal. Most of them are too young to survive in the wild and are brought to the rescue centre,” Mr. Mondal said.
At present, there are about 20 leopards at the centre. While some are relocated to zoos if needed, most of them remain in the centre.
