Another snow leopard being brought from France to Darjeeling Zoo this month
Another snow leopard is set to join the fleet of 11 - nine females and two males - at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling this month. Namkha, the new addition, will give a boost to the zoo's captive breeding project of this rare species, which was started in 1983. Member secretary of state zoo authority V K Yadav said the new sub-adult, aged about two, is being brought from the Zoo of Mulhouse in France. "It's scheduled to reach Kolkata on August 31 on an Emirates flight via Dubai around 8.20am. After a health check-up, it will start for Darjeeling in an ambulance by road," he said. The big cat is expected to reach the Hills early next morning. Namkha, which means space, is the Tibetan name of an ancient structure made of coloured threads wrapped around wooden sticks.
