The state forest department will bring in some new animals at the North Bengal Wild Animal Park on the outskirts of Siliguri, Birbaha Hansda, the minister of state for forests, said hereon Thursday.
Hansda, who visited the one-of-its-kind open-air zoological park of the region, said they will bring a hippopotamus, some langurs and mandrills here.
“We have received approval from the central government.... The plan is to bring these animals here ahead of the Durga Puja,” said Hansda, the minister of state for forests.
The hippo will reach here from Assam. A pair of mandrills — large colourful monkeys native to west central Africa — will brought from the Tata Steel Zoological Park of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. A pair of dusky leaf monkeys, also known as the spectacled langurs, will reach here from Sepahijala zoo, Tripura.
The facility, popularly known as the Bengal Safari Park, is fast emerging as a popular destination for tourists and wildlife enthusiasts in north Bengal.
In the first 11 months of the current fiscal, the park earned ₹8.39 crore, an all-time high
During this period, 2.83 lakh people have visited the park, said a forest department source. In these 11 months, eight new animals have also been born at the park. Among these include three royal Bengal tiger cubs, a lion cub and four brow-antlered deer calves, also known as Shanghai or dancing deer,” the source added.
