The zoo-cum-Tiger safari here will soon welcome a pair of leopards.
The Ludhiana zoo officials have set up cages and enclosures for the big cats. At present, the Tiger safari inside the zoo has one Royal Bengal Tiger.
“We have already constructed 10-ft tall cages, measuring 2.5X2.5 m, and are waiting for their arrival,” Pritpal Singh, in-charge of the zoo and wildlife range, said.
He said that they have also requested for a black bear, which is under process.
Narinder Singh, block officer, district forest department, said they have already sent their consent for the leopards to be shifted from rescue and rehabilitation home in Tutikandi, Shimla.
Two new visitor shelters are also being constructed along with a postmortem room for the animals under the master plan expected to be completed in a couple of weeks.
Ludhiana Zoo has a range of animals and birds including black buck, sambhar, Indian jackal, barking deer, emu, porcupine, ducks, peacocks, white dove, silver and golden pheasant, Indian thick-knee and red junglefowl etc.
To view the Royal Bengal Tiger, visitors are required to buy a ticket and then they are taken inside the forest in one of the safari buses, but this will not be the case to witness big cats. These leopards will be kept in an enclosure and the visitors can see them without any extra charge.
{{/usCountry}}To view the Royal Bengal Tiger, visitors are required to buy a ticket and then they are taken inside the forest in one of the safari buses, but this will not be the case to witness big cats. These leopards will be kept in an enclosure and the visitors can see them without any extra charge.
{{/usCountry}}Commenting on their diet, Pritpal Singh remarked, “10 kgs and 3 kgs of buffalo meat is fed to the Royal Bengal Tiger and Indian Jackal in the evening. The diet of black buck, barking deer and sambhar includes green fodder and soaked black gram. White doves and pheasants feed on foxtail millets and peacocks are given sago.”
To keep these animals warm during near-freezing temperatures, zoo authorities keep fodder inside the bird houses, which is a natural source of heat for them and a heater is provided to keep the Royal Bengal Tiger warm. For the rest of the animals, their shelters are covered with plastic sheets to prevent them from getting cold.