Singapore Zoo leopard heading for France for global breeding program

SINGAPORE: A Sri Lankan male leopard from the Singapore Zoo is making a special trip to France’s Saint Martin Zoo to take part in a global breeding programme.

However, before he begins his journey, the leopard has to go through a series of thorough medical checks.

Mr Kumar Pillai, Assistant Director of Zoology at the Night Safari, says that in this particular case, they need to sedate the animal to do a rabies vaccination, which is required by the European Union — that every animal susceptible to rabies be vaccinated — before going through the other procedures like X-rays, blood tests and parasite checks.

So the first stop for the leopard is the Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre for the sedation process, before going through the various checks.

Once he has been given a clean bill of health, the leopard will be off to France to join his female counterpart. – CNA/so

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