One Asiatic lion, two Indian wolves, a comb duck, golden jackal, a golden pheasant and silver pheasant birds arrived at he Pilikula Biological Park located on the outskirts of the city.
In exchange, Pilikula sent four wild dogs, one leopard, two civet cats, four reticulated pythons, four mountain snakes, vine snakes, and sand boa to Rajkot Zoological Park.
The animal exchange programme was implemented with approval from Central Zoo Authority (CZA). Two Indian wolves that arrived at Pilikula are considered as endangered animals. In the past, they was commonly found in India. However, they have become rare now.
Wild dogs and hyenas which are also endangered are growing in number in Pilikula. A huge enclosure has been constructed for the Indian wolf under the donation of Reliance Foundation. The new arrivals have been kept under quarantine to adjust to the environment here. After a few days, the enclosures will be opened for public viewing, said Pilikula Biological Park Director H J Bhandary.
He said that under the animal exchange programme, four white black bucks and four blue bulls (nilgai) arrived at the Pilikula Biological Park from Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park, Nagpur in Maharashtra, a month ago.