(IN): Clouded leopard joins save-&-breed project

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090331/jsp/siliguri/story_10748747.jsp

 

Clouded leopard joins save- & -breed project

OUR CORRESPONDENT

 

*Darjeeling, March 30: *The Padamaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is set

to start conservation breeding of the clouded leopard with the arrival of a

pair from Sephoyjhola zoo in Tripura.

 

The World Conservation Union, an international organisation that maintains a

global list of endangered species, has classified the clouded leopard as

“vulnerable”. Experts say conservation breeding of the animal is extremely

difficult.

 

“The zoo in Darjeeling will be the second in the country after the one at

Sephoyjhola to start the conservation breeding of clouded leopards. As the

male leopard is known to be very aggressive with the partner during mating,

sometimes even leading to the death of the female, breeding of clouded

leopard is difficult,” said Siromani Sangden, estate officer of the zoo

here.

 

The Darjeeling zoo had a male clouded leopard, which was exchanged with

Sephoyjhola for a pair.

 

“The clouded leopards arrived in Darjeeling on Friday and they are doing

well,” said Sangden. The animal is usually found in China, eastern Himalayan

belt and South-east Asia.

 

The zoo here also has snow leopard and a common leopard but till date,

conservation breeding has been done only with the first category. The

clouded leopards are not related to leopards even though the animals are

classified as cats.

 

“The conservation programme for snow leopard had started in 1982 and today,

we have six males and five females. We also have two pairs of common leopard

but we have no plans of conservation breeding for them,” said Sangden.

 

Apart from the leopards, the Darjeeling has also received five red jungle

fowls from the Murni zoo in Haryana. “We had one male and three female fowls

and we have received two more males and five females,” said Sangden.

 

The zoo, which has only one female Himalayan tahr, is also expected to

receive five more ones from Japan.

 

“It is called Sindu and is the only female tahr to be born in captivity in

India,” said Sangden. Once the Himalayan tahr reaches Darjeeling,

conservation breeding of the animal is expected to start.

 

The zoo, the first one in the country to release captive pandas in the wild,

is also expecting two pairs of red pandas from New Zealand.

 

“At the moment, we have ten males and three females in the zoo,” said the

estate officer.

 

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