Darjeeling, Jan. 30: The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is bracing for new life.

Two grey pheasant males from Alipore zoo have just completed a successful breeding programme with five resident females. The Calcuttans were in the zoo hospital for a week to get acclimatised and the knights in shining plumage did not disappoint.

There is some great news for the eligible female tahrs (mountain goats that inhabit the middle and lower reaches of the Himalayas) at the park as well. Talks are on with the Singapore zoo and the suitable boys are slated to arrive in Darjeeling after the formalities are through.

“The Singapore zoo has agreed to send two male Himalayan tahrs. We have sought permission from the Central Zoo Authority and are clearing hitches like import tax. We hope to get the tahrs soon,” said director of the Padmaja Naidu zoo B.R. Sharma.

The only worry of the zoo authorities is that they have not been able to find a match for the male clouded leopard that has been “craving for company”. The clouded leopard is endangered and a successful captive-breeding programme, authorities of the zoo believe, could go a long way in ensuring the survival of the species in the wild. Though clouded leopards do not readily breed in captivity, the zoo is ready to take up the challenge and hopes to replicate its success in breeding snow leopards.

“The Singapore zoo does not have a female clouded leopard that could be brought here. We contacted the Agartala zoo, which has a female clouded leopard, but could not make much headway because the authorities there were not willing to part with the feline,” Sharma said.

“The animals become restless during the breeding season and we regularly conduct exchange programmes with other zoos to try and ensure a healthy balance of males and females of all the species housed here,” said Sharma.

The zoo is scheduled to exchange a pair of snow leopards and Tibetan wolves with the Shimla zoo. The authorities in Shimla have also agreed to send a pair of Himalayan monal pheasants and three female red jungle fowls to Darjeeling.