Rare white tigers in Dehiwala

Suranjith Perera Dehiwala Mt Lavinia Group corr.

The pair of the very rare species of white tigers known as ‘Panthera Tigris Tigers’ gifted to the Dehiwala Zoological Gardens by the Xiang Jiang Zoo of the Suenzu region of China under an animal exchange program were placed in their enclosure at the Dehiwala Zoo for public viewing yesterday.

The pair was air freighted to Sri Lanka via Kuala Lumpur on February 27 said the Zoological Gardens Director Ananda Lokuranamuka.

He said the two new comers, a male tiger aged three and a half years and a female aged three years and two months are yet to be given Sri Lankan names.

This is the first time the species of white tiger had been brought to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile Zoo Deputy Director Dhammika Malsinghe said the present ‘Min Medura’ would be repaired soon to accommodate 15 penguins of a rare species to be brought down from Japan while two sea lions would also be brought down from USA in the near future.