Hyderabad Zoo to welcome kangaroos, wallabies and lemurs

Hyderabad’s Nehru Zoological Park is preparing to welcome kangaroos, wallabies, ring-tailed lemurs and cassowaries from Vantara. The zoo has arranged facilities for the new arrivals, while a pair of zebras is also planned for the city’s wildlife collection.

Hyderabad: Kangaroos, wallabies, ring-tailed lemurs and cassowaries (flightless birds) are set to become new attractions at the Nehru Zoological Park. The Hyderabad Zoo has raised a request with Vantara, a global wildlife rescue and conservation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which has agreed in principle to send these animals to the city.

The Hyderabad Zoo has already made arrangements, including an enclosure and a night house, to welcome its first-ever pair of kangaroos, comprising one male and one female. Kangaroos are among the most well-known Australian cultural symbols. A team from Vantara has already visited the zoo and inspected the facilities and other infrastructure.

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“Vantara has agreed to share its animal collection, including kangaroos, with us. Currently, they are occupied with other rescue and rehabilitation works. We will shortly welcome new inmates,” zoo officials said.

In 2020, plans had been made to bring four kangaroos from Yokohama Zoological Gardens, Japan, to the city zoo. While a deal was signed between the two zoos, it could not materialise due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition to exotic animals, the zoo is set to receive a pair of wallabies, kangaroo-like animals that stand around three feet tall, compared to kangaroos, which can reach heights of up to eight feet.

Further, the city zoo’s primate family is set to grow bigger as a pair of ring-tailed lemurs will be added. These primates, which are native to Madagascar, have long tails with alternating black and white rings. One of the unique traits of these lemurs is that they often sit upright with their arms spread wide to warm their bodies in the morning.

Also in the pipeline is a pair of zebras, which will arrive from Vantara. Currently, the zoo is home to three zebras, two males and one female, which have also been brought from Vantara. Presently, the zoo has 2,178 animals in its collection, including 320 reptiles, 498 mammals and eight amphibians.

Meanwhile, the zoo administration has arranged water sprinklers, foggers and air conditioners to protect its inmates from rising daytime temperatures due to the El Niño impact.