Nagpur, India- The Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoo in Nagpur is set to receive new animals through an exchange program with the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). Within the next month, the zoo will welcome two striped hyenas, two sloth bears, and two grey wolves from Jaipur Zoo. "We have received clearance from the CZA for this exchange. We will be sending two tigers to Jaipur, and in return, we will get these six animals. The exchange process is expected to be completed within a month," said Shatnik Bhagwat, Zoo Director.

Sources reveal that Maharajbag Zoo last had a hyena in 2002, which died a few years later, leaving the zoo without any hyenas since. This will be the first time Gorewada Zoo will host a pair of hyenas. Additionally, the zoo will receive two grey wolves, a species new to the city. The grey wolf, an endangered species, ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian subcontinent. The striped hyena, a near-threatened species, is native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

Gorewada Zoo currently houses two tigers, six leopards, four sloth bears, and 70 herbivores, along with various bird species, with more expected to arrive soon. In March, the zoo received several herbivores and birds, including endangered species, from Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden in Lucknow, in exchange for two sloth bears. After the upcoming exchange, the number of sloth bears at Gorewada Zoo will increase to six.