After a delay on a whole nine months, the Nehru Zoological Park will finally play home to the eight-year-old female Cheetah from the Dvur Kralove Zoo, which was supposed to be flown in during February 2012. The authorities at the Czech Republic delayed the transfer of the cheetah from February to December, because the cheetah was pregnant.
As part of the animal exchange programme between the Nehru Zoological Park and the Dvur Kralove Zoo, the latter was supposed to send two pairs of the felines to Hyderabad, but only three Cheetahs had Zoo on to the city in February. Central Zoo Authority (CZA) approved the exchange, which entails importing four cheetahs in return to one pair of Asiatic lions and five female ‘Gharials’.
“The cheetah could not give birth to cubs for some health reasons. So, the transfer was delayed and the female cheetah is being brought now,” said P Mallikarjuna Rao, director of AP Zoological Parks.
Officials at the Nehru Zoological have informed to the CZA to make arrangements for the cheetah. “If all the arrangements are on time, the cheetah will be brought to the zoo in just about three weeks,” Mallikarjuna Rao informed. As the Dvur Kralove Zoo sent only three cheetahs, the Nehru Zoological Park sent only one pair of Asiatic Lions in August. “After receiving the fourth cheetah as per the deal, we will send the remaining five female Gharials,” said Mallikarjuna Rao.
Of the three cheetahs which were brought in February, one is a two-year-old female cheetah and the other two are eight-year-old males. Adding a bit on the health of the existing cheetahs, Dr Srinivasa Reddy, assistant veterinary surgeon at the Nehru Zoological Park said, “They are healthy and have adapted themselves to the Hyderabad weather in the last nine months.”