A merry day at zoo as new pair of giraffes arrives

They were sent from Alipore Zoo in Kolkata in a specially-designed truck

Bubli and Sunny, the two giraffes, will be kept in quarantine for four weeks, before being released into a newly-designed enclosure for public display.

After a long wait, the Nehru Zoological Park has received its most cherished guests – a pair of giraffes – from Alipore Zoo in Kolkata.

The animals, Bubli, a female giraffe aged two years, and a male, Sunny, aged three years and nine months, arrived at the zoo on Thursday night. They have been brought here as part of animal exchange initiative between both the zoos.

In return, the Nehru Zoological Park has parted with three pairs of mouse deer, and one pair each of jaguar, and Asiatic lion, which have already been sent to the Alipore Zoo. The giraffe pair was transported by road in a specially-designed truck, a press release from the zoo informed. Veterinary team headed by the zoo’s Deputy Director (Veterinary) M.A. Hakeem along with veterinary staff and animal keepers from Alipore Zoo accompanied the animals in their journey from Kolkata.

The team started on March 4, and made halts at Vizag zoo and Eluru Forest Complex en route. The animals would be kept in quarantine for four weeks, before being released into a newly-designed enclosure for public display.

The zoo already has a 14-year-old male giraffe named Tsunami Basant, which is leading a solitary life for the last 10 years, for want of a mate.