HYDERABAD: Three Cheetahs which were brought from the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic to the Nehru Zoological park on February 17, is all set to be put on display in the next 10 days.
Under the animal exchange programme, the Dvur Kralove Zoo was supposed to send two pairs of the felines but one female Cheetah couldn’t be flown in given its pregnant state. The Nehru zoo sent 10-year-old Avani and five-year-old Brahma (both lions) to the Czech zoo on March 8. Both the lions were born and brought up at the Nehru zoo.
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is likely to inaugurate the Cheetahs’ enclosure, said an official of the Nenru zoo. This is the first time in almost half-a-century that the Hyderabad zoo is hosting Cheetahs. A visibly elated Mallikarjuna Rao, director of AP Zoological Parks, told City Express that more pleasant surprises are in the offing for animal lovers in the city.
The three cheetahs which were named as Munia (female aged 22 months), Monk (male aged 22 months) and Dark (male aged eight) by the Dvur Kralove Zoo, will be re-christened by the Nehru zoo officials when they arrive here.
At the moment, the feline visitors are under observation in a designated quarantine enclosure to monitor their health and help them get acclimatised to their new home. As they are from a cold country, coolers, shade nets and exhaust fans have been arranged to soften the brunt of the tropical climate.
Besides the temperature, the floor has also been kept dry and clean, informed Dr P Srinivas Reddy, veterinary assistant surgeon at the zoo.
“The cheetahs will be in a quarantine enclosure for two more weeks. They will be shifted to their enclosure thereafter,” Dr Reddy said.
“As they get adopted the local weather condition, we are going to put them in the enclosuere for public viewing in 10 days,” he added.