Endangered animal bound for Darjeeling zoo

TNN, Deep Gazmer

 

Darjeeling March 5: The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is set to introduce the endangered animal 'markhor' as an exhibit.The markhor is a large species of wild goat and is found in northeastern Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan, southern Uzbekistan and some parts of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has classified it as an endangered species.

"We had asked for some markhors to be sent to us and they have been brought from Germany. The animals are presently being kept in quarantine at the Kolkata airport. They will be brought to our zoo for public exhibition only after a month," said the zoo director, A K Jha.The director said five animals - four of them females - have been brought. It may also be mentioned here that the markhor are animals that are adapted to mountainous terrain and can be found between 600 and 3,600 meters in elevation. It is also the national animal of Pakistan.The zoo authorities said a captive breeding programme will also be initiated. The Darjeeling zoo already caqrries out similar breeding programmes for several threatened species, such as to increase the population of this endangered species. The PNHZP is already undergoing successful captive breeding programs of different endangered Himalayan species since the mid eighties.
Presently, breeding programs for animals like the red panda, the snow leopard and the Tibetan wolf. is going on successfully with breeding of rare and endangered species like the Himalayan Monal, Red Jungle fowl and the Himalayan newts (salamander) also being done at the breeding centre at Darjeeling. Apart from that under the jurisdiction of the PNHZP breeding programs of endangered pheasants like the satyr tragopan and the temminck tragopan is also being done at the Kurseong center.