Zoo encourages mating of wild leopards

Lucknow, Dec 4 (UNI) The Lucknow Zoological Garden is preparing for an extraordinary wedding.

Allahabad's Akbar is all set to marry Mirzapur's Dia.

The two are wild leopards caught recently by the wildlife authorities. ''Though they belong to different areas, the one thing common between them is that they are from the wild and have not been exposed to captivity,'' said zoo director Dr Eva Sharma who christined them Akbar and Dia.

While Akbar had recently hogged the limelight after he entered an Army canteen in Allahabad, Dia was saved from the clutches of poachers from Mirzapur.

On November 27, army and forest officials in Allahabad finally managed to trap the wild leopard which had strayed into an army cantonment.

The leopard (Akbar) had strayed into the area and was captured after a 12-hour long joint operation by the Army and wildlife personnel. The big cat had taken shelter in the army canteen causing panic. But fortunately no one was injured in the incident.

Dia, however, had a bitter experience with humans. It was caught in a net laid by poachers. One of her claws was so badly injured that it had to be amputed.

The zoo director now plans to put up a board outside the cage to be shared by Akbar and Dia, highlighting the latter's plight. ''How cruel can humans be,'' she quipped.

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