Siberian Tigers on their way to the Darjeeling Zoo

Darjeeling’s Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is preparing for the arrival of two Siberian tigers. The tigers are named Lara and Akamas. This pair of big cats is coming from the Paphos Zoo in Cyprus(a country in the Middle East). Before reaching Darjeeling, they will arrive at the Kolkata airport this Friday. From there, they will travel to Darjeeling in an air-conditioned ambulance van. 

They will first stay in the Bengal Safari for a while before finally moving to the Darjeeling Zoo. Two vets will look after them during the journey. They will travel to the Darjeeling Zoo in two small vans. They are expected to reach the zoo by 10th December. 

Siberian Tigers, or Amur tigers, are the biggest kind of tigers. Sadly, there are less than 600 of them left in the wild. Lara and Akamas, who are a bit older than one year, will be the first pair of Siberian tigers in an Indian zoo since the last one in Nainital Zoo passed away in 2011. As a return gift, the Darjeeling Zoo will send two Red Pandas to the zoo in Cyprus. They are making special plans to send the red pandas on their exciting journey!