ITANAGAR, 10 Dec: The biological park here received two pairs of spotted deer and two pairs of sangai deer from Guwahati-based Assam State Zoological Garden on Wednesday under the animal exchange programme, after obtaining permission from the Central Zoo Authority of India.
Zoo veterinarian Dr Sorang Tadap and curator Raya Flago, along with the Itanagar zoo staffers received the animals and put them into the newly constructed enclosures safely. The animals will be quarantined for a month.
The sangai deer is an endemic and endangered subspecies of the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur. It is also the state animal of Manipur. The common English names for it are Manipur brow-antlered deer or Eld’s deer or dancing deer.
The spotted deer, also known as chital deer and axis deer, is native to the Indian subcontinent.
“The addition of these beautiful animals in our inventory will attract more visitors after the opening of the zoo to the public,” said Biological Park Director Joram Dopum.
The transportation of these animals had been delayed due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The Itanagar zoo will transfer a male hoolock gibbon to the Guwahati zoo for breeding purposes, since the Guwahati zoo is participating in the ‘zoo for hoolock gibbon conservation breeding programme’.
Altogether eight live animals were transported from Guwahati to Itanagar, loaded in two trucks and a zoo ambulance, under the guidance of FVO Dr Deepjyoti Deka along with five animal keepers.
Meanwhile, the authorities of the Itanagar zoo informed that they are planning to bring more animals in the future, such as rhinoceros, black panther, white tiger, peacock and emu from other zoos under the animal exchange programme.
