Hyderabad Zoo to welcome Mandrill, Hoolock Gibbons and Zebras after decades

The Hyderabad Zoo will soon house new attractions, including a Mandrill from Jamshedpur, Hoolock Gibbons from Nagaland, and Zebras from Gujarat, after more than 30 years. Officials say the animal exchanges are likely to be completed within three months.

Hyderabad: This ‘Rafiki’ will not lift Simba, a lion cub, into the air on the Pride Rock cliff and present him to the Pride Landers as Musfasa’s, a lion, heir as shown in the famous Hollywood movie ‘The Lion King’. But, his presence for sure will be a crowd puller at the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) here.

A real-life Mandrill, a primate, which became famous for the character ‘Rafiki’ from Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ movie franchise, is set to join the NZP family. The Hyderabad Zoo will shortly receive this primate from the Tata Zoological Park, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, as part of the animal exchange programme between the two zoos.

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The Mandrills, which are the largest monkeys, are famous for their vibrant appearance. Adult males have bright blue and red skin on their face, with colourful facial ridges.
The Mandrill will not join the NZP alone. Hoolock Gibbons, India’s only ape species, will also soon arrive at the zoo as officials finalised talks with a Nagaland Zoo Park for the animal exchanges. These apes are mostly found in Nagaland.

According to zoo officials, these primates are mostly not included in exchange programmes as they are under the endangered species category. But, a personal connection of the senior officials of the Telangana Forest department and NZP with the Nagaland Zoo Park officials aided in managing a deal for Hoolock Gibbons.
And that’s not all. After more than 30 years, the NZP will once again house Zebra as part of the animal exchange programme. This exotic animal is set to arrive from Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat. In the past, the Hyderabad Zoo had a deal with an African country to bring Zebras. However, it could not materialise.

“Mandrill, Hoolock Gibbon and Zebra will be a huge attraction for the Zoo. We are expecting animal exchanges to be completed in the next one to three months,” Telangana Zoo Parks Director, Dr. Sunil S Hiremath told ‘Telangana Today’.
Presently, the NZP has a total collection of 199 species, including 51 mammals, 109 birds, 37 reptiles, and two amphibians. Overall, the zoo is home to 518 mammals, 1,361 birds, 328 reptiles and eight amphibians.