Population boost: A giraffe at Patna zoo. Telegraph picture

The city zoo is set to welcome a new guest — a giraffe.

A team from Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park would leave for Mysore on Thursday to bring it under an animal exchange programme. The city zoo would get the giraffe in lieu of a pair of rhinos. Earlier, it got 12 animals under the programme.

The new animals are likely to be brought in public display around September 15. “We have brought 12 animals, including three Indian Gaur, three black swans, two saras cranes, two wolves and two hynas, from the Mysore zoo in June-July. The giraffe is the last animal to be brought under the animal exchange programme. We have sent a pair of rhinos against it,” said S. Chandrashekhar, director, Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.

The zoo director claimed that the giraffe from the Mysore zoo would arrive in the city latest by September 15. All the 13 animals would be put on public display around the same time.

The past few animal exchange programmes, aimed at promoting breed of animals, included addition of seven felines — a pair of leopards, two male and a female leopard cat, and two female jungle cats — from Assam State Zoo, Guwahati, and Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura, in the first week of March 2012.

Earlier, Patna zoo received a pair of lions and a pair of Royal Bengal Tigers — Bhima and Swarna — from Hyderabad zoo in August 2011. The city zoo had given them a pair of Indian single horned rhinoceros.

Tiger display

The residents of the city are likely get a sight of tiger quadruplets born at Patna zoo on March 4 around September 15. The zoo authorities organised a competition among school students for naming the four cubs.

“We are seeking the presence of chief minister and minister of state of forests and environment for holding the official naming ceremony and bringing the tiger quadruplets in public display,” said Chandrashekhar.

The tiger cubs were born after successful mating of white Royal Bengal tigress Swarna with normal tiger Bhima on November 19-20 last year. The quadruplets have been kept in isolation with their mother since the time of their birth.

Zoo sources said Swarna stays with her cubs most of the day. She leaves the night enclosure — room attached to a cage for night stay of animals — only for going to the feeding chamber to eat or drink water. They eat around 4 to 6kg of chicken a day.

The zoo authorities, meanwhile, has decided to send a proposal to the Central Zoo Authority to renovate its nocturnal house. It is closed for around two years in want of repair.