Mangaluru: Exotic birds new attraction at Pilikula park
Mangaluru (PTI): Pilikula biological park here has acquired new exotic species of birds and mammals to attract more visitors.
The new species have been brought to the park from Greens Zoo of Gujarat under the animal exchange programme as approved by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), H Jayaprakash Bhandary, park director said.
The new birds are the Blue and Gold Macaw which is native to south America, Military Macaw of the central and south America, the Gala Pink and Grey Cockatoo of Australia and Green Turaco of west Africa. They have been let in display enclosures for the visitors, he said.
The new mammals introduced at the park include squirrel monkeys found in central and south America, red handed tamarin, native of north Amazon River, common marmosets of north eastern coast of Brazil and large rodents called the Patagonian Mara found in Patagonia and Argentina.
The mammals are being quarantined and their health is being monitored by a team of veterinarians, biologists, and zookeepers until the animals get acclimatised to the environment, Bhandary said.
In exchange, animals including tigers, leopards, dholes and a variety of snakes which were in excess have been handed over to the Greens Zoo, he said.
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Cummins doubtful for T20 World Cup? It's quite grey right now, says Aus head coach
Melbourne (PTI): Australia skipper Pat Cummins' chances of playing at next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka are "quite grey at the moment" as he battles a back stress issue that has affected his participation in the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Cummins returned to play the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after missing the opening two matches, picking up six wickets to help Australia clinch the series 3-0.
However, the Australian Test and ODI skipper will take no further part in the series and even his participation at the T20 World Cup is also uncertain. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh is Australia's T20I captain.
"Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can't really say. It's quite grey at the moment. We're hopeful," head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'.
The fast bowler was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction during Australia's tour of the West Indies in July. He underwent rehabilitation before being cleared for a carefully managed return in Adelaide.
"He's pulled up fine. He won't play any part in the rest of the series and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return," McDonald said.
"We were taking on some risk and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We've now won the series and that was the goal.
"So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do and Pat's really comfortable with that," he added.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 across India and Sri Lanka with the summit clash set for March 8.
Australia's first match is on February 11 against Ireland at Colombo. Although Cummins captains the Test and ODI teams, all-rounder Mitch Marsh leads Australia in the shortest format.
