Two red pandas reached the Darjeeling Zoo from Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Christmas, bringing joy and excitement among the zoo personnel and the forest fraternity in West Bengal.

No red pandas were brought from any foreign country in the past 10 years, the member secretary of the West Bengal Zoo Authority, Saurabh Chaudhury, told PTI on Thursday.

“The animals have been brought to Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PMZP), also known as Darjeeling Zoo, for conservation breeding purposes,” he said.

Both red pandas are two-and-a-half years old. They have been brought to add genetic diversity to the zoo, which has a climate typical to their earlier habitat at Rotterdam Zoo, Chaudhury said.

“This is a happy and proud moment for us,” he said.

“After years of efforts, official process, and getting clearance from the Centre and the state government, finally these two cute unique animals are here. After 10 years, we have red pandas from a foreign country, though the zoo already has red pandas,” he said.

“The new members will add to the genetic diversity. We have more such plans,” he said.

The two red pandas arrived at Kolkata airport in the early hours of Wednesday after a 27-hour flight. They had to change aircraft in Doha and were examined by vets.

From Kolkata airport, they boarded a customized AC vehicle for Darjeeling and reached the Topkeydara Breeding Centre of Darjeeling Zoo on Wednesday evening (Christmas) amid loud cheers from the zoo keepers, officials, and other staff.

Both the animals are doing fine and are to be kept in quarantine for a month before being paired with pandas of the opposite gender. They will then be put on display for visitors, Chaudhury explained.

“We have named the two red pandas Vishal and Koshi, and you may call them a Christmas gift from Rotterdam,” the top official said.

“Currently, the zoo has 19 red pandas (seven males, 12 females, and two cubs),” he said.

The PMZP boasts of the most successful breeding programme for red pandas in the country.

"We are on a course of the long-term plan, centring the PMZP, which possesses a typical climatic condition conducive for animals like red pandas and other animals having their habitat in snowy regions,” he elaborated.

In 1990, the Darjeeling Zoo had one male and three female red pandas of wild origin.

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China.

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