Alipore Zoo will soon receive a pure breed of Asiatic Lions from Hyderabad Zoo for captive breeding. According to the Zoo authorities, a pair of lions (one male and one female) will arrive in a few weeks.

“We have four lions at the Zoo but they are hybrid lions; so they cannot breed,” said Alipore Zoological Gardens director Raju Das. “The pair of lions that we are getting from Hyderabad Zoo can breed. We are preparing an enclosure for them.”

At present the zoo has four lions and 10 tigers. Along with the new lions, it will also get two pairs of iguana, a genus of lizard native to the tropical areas of central and South America, and a pair of Emu, the largest bird of Australia.

In return Alipore Zoo will give its Hyderabad counterpart a male giraffe, six pairs of spoonbills and a pair of pea foul. Alipore Zoo officials said they are also looking for a kangaroo and a zebra, for which they are trying to contact firms that can supply them through other zoos in the country.

The Alipore Zoo authorities have also decided to release about 60 spotted deer in the Sunderban forests.

The final nod for this has already been received and the animals are likely to be freed from the zoo in a couple of weeks.

The Zoo, which has about 70 spotted dear in three enclosures, is facing a space crunch due to the increase in number of animals.

“This is where the role of the Zoo comes up in conservation. It can have about 10-12 spotted deer with the amount of space we have,” said the director.

“This is the third wave of predator arrangements that has been made for the Sunderban tiger population. Breeding animals which can help in conservation of the wild, as in the case of the spotted dear, is called conservation breeding,” Das explained.

Meanwhile, construction work has begun in the zoo on enclosures for its new members. In an attempt to restructure the Zoo, the authorities are working to divide it into different zones for herbivores, reptiles, carnivores, pheasants and flightless birds.