One of the leopards at the Rasikbeel rescue centre. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti

Cooch Behar, Aug. 13: A male leopard born at Rasikbeel one-and-a-half-years ago may have to be shifted soon as the rescue centre does not have permission to breed the animals.

The forest officials fear that the growing leopard may soon have breeding capabilities. Among the seven leopards at the centre, five are females and the only adult male is neutered.

Forest sources said after the rescue centre was opened in 2005 with two female leopards, Kali and Gouri, a male named Shankar was introduced. When both the females gave birth, it embroiled the centre in a controversy. The forest department was hauled up for allowing the breeding to take place without the clearance of the Central Zoo Authority.

Faced with criticism from many quarters, the forest department shifted Shankar to the Darjeeling zoo and replaced it with the neutered Raja. Kali and Gouri’s litter included three females and one male, which is now in the eye of a storm. A senior forester said the “new male” would have to be shifted out of the rescue centre as it is approaching adulthood. One of the young females would also be taken to some other zoo, he said.

“We are planning to shift two leopards out of Rasikbeel. One of them may pose a breeding problem,” said Apurba Sen, the divisional forest officer of the social forestry division.

The shift has also been necessitated by the huge expense the centre is incurring in maintaining the animals at the Rasikbeel complex.

Sen said Rs 35,000 is spent to feed the leopards every month. The officer said it took Rs 8 lakh annually to feed all the animals at the centre and to keep them healthy. For the leopards alone, the expense is Rs 4.2 lakh a year.

The officer added that a proposal to shift the two leopards had been sent to the principal chief conservator of forests in Calcutta. “We are yet to receive the permission,” he said.

The Rasikbeel complex also shelters peafowl, pythons, rabbits, spotted deer and guinea pigs, and is spread over 31 hectares.