Vishal, the Asiatic lion, checks out his new enclosure and (below) deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi tours Patna zoo on a bicycle on Sunday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Aug. 21: New feline guests at the city zoo today made their first public appearance in the presence of deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Visitors to the zoo would now be able to see a pair of Asiatic lions, a pair of white tigers and a Royal Bengal tiger that arrived on August 11 as part of an exchange programme with Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.

Modi said: “Patna zoo is one of the best zoos in the country. We have the largest number of rhinoceroses. We are also planning on an exchange programme with the Assam State Zoo, Guwahati. Under the proposed programme, we will get a pair of leopards and two female jungle cats. We will provide them a jackal, a male common langur and two golden pheasants.”

Abhay Kumar, the director of the zoo, said visitors would soon be able to see attractive animals from foreign countries as well.

“One can expect to see animals such as jaguars, kangaroos or 5-ft-long turtles in Patna zoo in coming times. As we have decided to make significant additions to our wildlife family, we have kept our options open and may reach out to foreign countries, where animals are available for sale as well,” said Abhay. “We want to bring a chimpanzee to Patna zoo at the earliest. It may come either from Nandan Kanan zoo, Bhubneshwar, or from the international market.”

He also said a proposal for the establishment of a Patna zoo authority had been forwarded to the state department of environment and forests.