Under an animal exchange programme, the Punjab Wildlife Department has acquired a pair of Asiatic lions and a pair of Royal Bengal tigers to strengthen its zoological collections.The tigers — male ‘Badal’ and female ‘Bijli’ — were brought from Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park in Nagpur, Maharashtra, and housed at the Tiger Safari in Ludhiana Zoo.A pair of Asiatic lions — male ‘Dheera’ and female ‘Chanchal’ — procured from Rohtak Zoo in Haryana, have been shifted to Chhatbir Zoo. With their arrival, the lion strength at Chhatbir has increased to four.Chhatbir Zoo also witnessed a boost in its tiger population with the birth of three female cubs — Garima, Gunjan and Ghazal — in November last year, taking the total tiger count there to 10.Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden Basanta Raj Kumar said the big cats arrived after meticulous planning and coordination by senior forest officials.“The zoo managements are now gearing up to introduce the animals for public viewing in the coming weeks after completing mandatory quarantine and acclimatisation procedures,” he added.With the latest additions, the total strength of lions and tigers across Punjab’s zoos stands at four and seven, respectively. The department is also in the process of acquiring a sloth bear from Himachal Pradesh.Vishal Chauhan, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Parks and Protected Area Circle, Mohali, and Vikram Singh Kundra, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Phillaur, said the new tigers would significantly enhance Ludhiana Zoo’s popular Tiger Safari.They said the presence of these animals will not only enrich the zoo’s collection but also help raise awareness about tiger conservation among the public, especially the younger generation.The inter-zoo exchange is part of Punjab’s ongoing efforts towards ex-situ conservation, maintaining genetic diversity of big cats, and improving the visitor experience at wildlife parks.