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Wedding bells for two Lucknow zoo leopards

     Lucknow: Diya and Raja are two leopards at the Lucknow zoo handpicked for marriage, but they must bide their time until they are certified as being friendly to each other. Zoo keepers are presently on the lookout for a specific manner of pacing; growling, besides other signs, which will help them to establish compatibility status between the two big cats. "After they are thrown together, they sniff at each other and familiarize themselves. They start making noises understood only by them. After that, we have to watch out for an opportune time when the two can be put together in one large cell, and whether the two are in the right season for mating. (Question: Are these two adults?) Yes, they are. But since both have been rehabilitated here after their loss of wild habitat, it takes time to orient to the environment. The female leopard took about a year, the male one has only just arrived...should take about six months before we schedule their mating," said Siya Ram, a keeper at the zoo.

     Diya, the female leopard was released from a poacher's net in the Mirzapur jungles in the state, about a year ago, and is healthy though the gruelling encounter cost her a paw. Raja, the male leopard, was captured in Allahabad, and shifted to the zoo to sustain himself. Zoo officials say that healthy big cats from the wild have an advantage over ones bred in captivity. "We have other leopards too. But they have all been paired off and this one had no suitable pair, so we had to keep her separate from other animals. Now since we have found a match, we shall be pairing them off soon. They will be put in one large new cell that they can cohabit in. The structure is being readied soon," said Eva Sharma, the zoo director.

     The animals are being fed delectable meat, and being observed for tell-tale signs of amour. And, if cupid strikes the big cats, the wedding bells should be heard soon. It is illegal to kill leopards, an endangered species in Africa and Asia often hunted for its fur. Even being put on the priority list of endangered species to be saved has not helped better the status of the felines.
-Dec 15,  2006

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