Siberian Tigers on their way to the Darjeeling Zoo

Two Siberian tigers, Lara and Akamas, are on their way to Darjeeling’s Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park. This pair of big cats is from the Paphos Zoo in Cyprus. They will be travelling almost 5000 km to get to their new home. 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. 

Once they reach North Bengal, the pair will be kept in the Bengali Safari for a while before finally being transferred to the Darjeeling Zoo. Two vets will accompany them. As per the secretary of the West Bengal Zoo authority, they will be given light food to ensure the journey occurs without any problems. Other security measures are also being taken. From Bengal Safari in Siliguri, they will travel to the Darjeeling Zoo in two small AC vans. They are expected to reach the zoo by 10th December. 

Siberian Tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are the largest subspecies of cats. They are an endangered species, with fewer than 600 Siberian tigers remaining in the wild. Lara and Akamas, both a little over a year old, will be the first pair of Siberian tigers to be kept in captivity in India since the last one died at the Nainital Zoo in 2011. They are being brought in exchange for two red pandas. The authorities at the Darjeeling Zoo have started the arrangements to send a pair of red pandas to Cyprus.