One of the tigers checks out its new home at Patna zoo on Friday. Telegraph picture

Patna, Aug. 12: From next week, visiting Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park would be more thrilling with the addition of a pair of lions, a pair of white tigers and a Royal Bengal tiger to the wildlife family.

The new guests arrived at the zoo from Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad late on Thursday night. But the visitors would have to wait for a week to see them. For, the zoo authorities want to give the animals ample rest after a long journey.

“The animals have travelled over 2,000km by road. It took them more than four days to come here from Hyderabad. The animals have been kept in quarantine. They will be given rest for at least seven days,” said Abhay Kumar, the director of Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.

He said: “A pair of Asiatic lions, a pair of white tigers and a Royal Bengal tiger arrived at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park from the zoo in Hyderabad under an exchange programme. We will give them a pair of Indian single-horned rhinoceros in exchange.”

Kumar said Patna zoo would house a pair of Asiatic lions for the first time.

“We had two hybrid lionesses. According to the Central Zoo Authority norms, breeding of hybrid lions is prohibited in zoos. Now we can go ahead with the breeding of Asiatic lions. The zoo had just one tigress more than 17 years old. It was too old for breeding. The addition of new animals would give us opportunity to breed both white as well as normal tigers,” Kumar said.

The animal exchange programme with Hyderabad zoo apart, the Patna zoo authorities are working on other options to enrich the wildlife family. “We are in continuous touch with many zoos regarding exchange programmes and we hope to see a few more animals in near future,” Kumar said.

According to sources, Patna zoo authorities have entered into an agreement with their counterparts of Sipahijala zoo, Tripura. According to the points agreed, Patna zoo would give a female rhino and a pair of hippopotamus to the Sipahijala zoo in lieu of a pair of spectacled languor, a pair of clouded leopard, a pair of pigtailed macaque, a pair of leopard cat, a silver and a golden pheasant.

According to sources, a proposal for this exchange agreement has been sent to the Central Zoo Authority. The approval is awaited.