HYDERABAD: The pair of Indian rhinoceros which were recently brought to the Nehru Zoological Park have now been put on display. S Vijayarama Raju, minister for Forests, Environment and Science and Technology welcomed visitors to view the rhinos on Sunday.Speaking to newsmen, the minister said the zoo is likely to get more visitors as there had been no rhinos for the last three years. “We got the pair of rhinos by exchanging animals under the guidance of the Zoo Authority of India. As the Hyderabad zoo has no cheetahs, we plan to bring a pair of cheetahs too,” Vijayarama Raju said.The pair of Indian rhinoceros, a 7-year male and a 5-year female, were brought on August 24 from the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park in Patna. The pair was kept off display for ten days for observation and feed them properly as they were tired of the 1,700-km journey from Patna to Hyderabad.Zoo director P Mallikarjun Rao said, “The rainy season is ideal time for rhinos to adapt to the new surroundings. As rhinos are gregarious animals, they were kept together. One pair each of Asiatic lion and white tiger and one Royal Bengal tiger were sent to the Patna zoo and we brought these rhinos in exchange.” He added all necessary arrangements have been made to facilitate the bedding-in period for the rhinos. “A 32 by 30 sq ft space has been kept clean with sheds so the rhinos could move freely and a small pond has been arranged as well,” he said.Dr MA Hakeem, assistant director (Veterinary), said, “We have arranged for grass, twigs, shoots, wheat, etc. for rhinos to eat.”
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