Nandankanan zoo welcomes 4 new guests from Arunachal Pradesh

In a good news for animal lovers, Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar has welcomed four new guests from Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday under the animal exchange programme.

After prior approval from the Central Zoo Authority for animal exchange, the zoological park received two hoolock gibbons and as many leopard cats from Itanagar Zoological Park.

In exchange, the Nandankanan Zoo authority handed over two tigers- Rocky and Sohani-and the same number of gharials to Itanagar Zoo.

About hoolock gibbon

The hoolock gibbons, popularly known as hoolocks, belong to the gibbon family. After Siamang, hoolocks are the second largest gibbons. Both male and female hoolocks are about the same size and they can reach a size of 60 to 90 cm and weigh 6 to 9 kg. But they differ considerably in colours. While males are black-coloured, females have a grey-brown fur. Their life expectancy in the wild is about 25 years.

About leopard cats

The Leopard Cat is about the size of a normal cat, but they have long legs. They are about 45-75 cm long while their tail length is about 19-31 cm. They measure around 41 cm high and weigh around 1.7 to 7 kg.