BHUBANESWAR: The proposal of the Nandankanan Zoological Park to bring a pair of cheetahs from the Dubai Zoo has been scrapped due to pending formalities, said a zoo official on Monday.
He said the Dubai Zoo backed out from the project owing to pending clearances and paperwork which were both complex and time-consuming. The zoo authorities are currently exploring other alternatives for the project.
In a bid to promote ex-situ conservation and enrich the zoo’s inventory with prized species, Nandankanan had two years back decided to bring a pair of cheetahs - a male and a female - from the Dubai Zoo in exchange of three pairs of Sangai deer. It had also decided to bring other exotic species including four African white lions, one male and three female, in exchange of a hog deer under the programme, from the zoo.
While it managed to obtain permission from the CZA, getting clearances from the MoEF, Directorate General of Foreign Trade and CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) turned out to be a tough task.
“As a lot of paperwork (formalities) were involved, the Dubai Zoo has expressed its reluctance to proceed further,” the zoo official said.
As it is, the zoo has already initiated process for construction of a cheetah enclosure. The tender for the project had been floated towards the end of 2024.