The Bengal Safari Park on the outskirts of Siliguri will receive two lions by December and begin a lion safari, while the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling will host two Siberian tigers.

Officials of both zoological parks have confirmed that they are expecting the new entrants to reach by next month.

“The enclosure for lions, crawl space and the night shelters are almost ready. We hope to start a lion safari at the park from next month,” said Kamal Sarkar, the director of the North Bengal Wild Animals Park, commonly known as the Bengal Safari Park, on Friday. Two more lions will arrive later.

It is the only open-air zoological park in north Bengal and is around 9km from Siliguri off NH31. It is spread over an area of 297 hectares. The proposed lion safari will come up inside a 20-hectare enclosure.

Considered one of the pet projects of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the park has earned immense popularity, especially for carrying out captive breeding of Royal Bengal Tigers. It is a major crowd-puller for its safari rides to spot Asiatic black bear, leopards, rhinos and also has an open-air aviary and an enclosure for gharials (fish-eating crocodiles).

“The necessary documentation with the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for procuring two pairs of lions is complete. Talks are going on to get the lions from the zoological park at Raipur in Tripura and some other north-eastern states. Also, a pair of lions will be sent here from the Alipore Zoological Park in Calcutta,” Sarkar said.

Dr Basavaraj Holeyachi, the director of the PNHZP in Darjeeling, said they would receive a pair of Siberian tigers next month.

“We are expecting two Siberian tigers to reach the park by next month. We will get the pair from the Paphos Zoological Park in Cyprus under the animal-exchange programme. The tigers will be exchanged with a pair of Himalayan red pandas,” the director said.

The zoological park in the Darjeeling hills was recognised by the CZA as the best zoo in the country in 2022 among 130-odd zoological parks across India.

It was established on August 14, 1958, and has gained international recognition for conservation and captive breeding programmes of the red panda, snow leopards and some other endangered animal species of the Himalayan region.

“As of now, we have one Siberian tiger and 25 red pandas in the park,” Holeyachi said.