Junagadh, May 27 (IANS) Two officials of the Sakkarbaug Zoo in this Gujarat town, which houses two cheetahs brought from Singapore, will travel to the island nation next month to learn ways to help the animals cope with the harsh Indian summer.
Veterinary officer C.N. Bhuva and caretaker Salim Chauhan have been asked by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to head to Singapore, a wildlife official in the Junagadh division of the state forest department told IANS.

The cheetahs - one male and one female - were exchanged by the Gujarat government for three Asiatic lions in June last year. But the harsh summer conditions made the cheetahs uncomfortable in the zoo which prompted the authorities to remove the animals from public view in April.

The cheetahs are currently lodged in a customised enclosure, which is temperature controlled and are served food only approved by the veterinarians every day.

The cheetahs need special attention round-the-clock as they are the only surviving pair lodged in any zoo in India right now.

The cheetahs were brought to India to enable successful breeding. Earlier attempts to breed cheetahs brought to India from several countries in the past three decades have failed as they could not withstand the Indian summer in any zoo, the official added.