A pair of African lions, 8 wildebeests arrive at Chattogram Zoo

A pair of African lions and eight wildebeests have arrived at Chattogram Zoo, the facility that has become famous for breeding tigers.

Carried in specialised boxes, the wild animals imported from Africa reached the zoo on Thursday night.

"There were two lions in the zoo. With the addition of a new couple, we now have four lions. Of the two 10-month-old lions, one is male and the other one is female," said Dr Shahadat Hossain Suvo, the Deputy Curator of the zoo.

"The newly arrived animals will be in quarantine for 15 days under the supervision of the suppliers. At the end of quarantine, we will receive the animals," he added.

"Of the eight wildebeests, three are male and the others are females, and the age of the wildebeests is 11 months," he noted further.

Earlier last year, to make Chattogram Zoo more attractive and commercially successful, the authorities concerned took an initiative to procure lions, macaws, wildebeests, kangaroos, and llamas for Tk1.69 crore through tenders.

Then, two males and four female llamas and kangaroos were brought to the zoo last October. Also, six macaws arrived at the beginning of this month.

The zoo houses and exhibits 620 animals of 65 species, including white tiger, lion, bear, crocodiles, various kinds of deer and monkeys, chimpanzees, owls, porcupines, jackals, civet, zebra, peacock, ostrich, emu, pheasant, parrot, falcon, vulture, turkey, pigeons of various species, pythons and others snakes.

An average of 3,000 visitors flock to see the animals at the zoo every day. The zoo earns Tk50 crore per year from ticket sales.

Chattogram Zoo, which was established in February 1989 in Foy's Lake area of the port city, now has expanded to 10 acres.