Nehru zoo gets 3 Czech cheetahs

After almost 30 years, cheetahs are back in the Nehru Zoological Park here. Three cheetahs from the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic were flown here in an exchange programme and were presented before the public in a special enclosure.

The Dvur Kralove Zoo was supposed to send two pairs of felines but one female cheetah couldn’t be flown in since it was pregnant. The Nehru zoo sent two lions, 10-year-old Avani and 5-year-old Brahma in turn, on March 8, this year. Both lions were born and brought up at the Nehru zoo. For first time after 1984, the Hyderabad zoo is hosting cheetahs.

Mallikarjuna Rao, Director of AP Zoological Parks, told reporters that the zoo plans to bring more exotic animals from across the world.

The three cheetahs from the Czech zoo include siblings Munia (female, 22 months) and Monk (male, 22 months) and Dark (male, eight). The trio will be re-christened by the Nehru zoo officials. Initially, the cheetahs were quarantined and monitored to get them acclimatised to the climatic changes. As the Czech Republic is a cold country, coolers, shade nets and exhaust fans have been arranged for them.

“Besides the temperature, the floor has also been kept dry and clean,” said P Srinivas Reddy, veterinary assistant surgeon at the zoo.