Zebras are set to return to the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo after a nine-year gap, with a pair from Gujarat’s Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (Vantara) expected to arrive ahead of the Onam holidays.

Museum and Zoo Department Minister O Janeesh said arrangements have been completed to bring the two zebras to the state capital. The pair, aged three and five, will be transported by road in a specially equipped animal ambulance.

Zoo veterinary surgeon Dr Nikesh Kiran has examined the animals’ health, and a team led by a veterinary surgeon will accompany them during the journey, which is expected to take around three days.

The zoo has been without zebras since 2017, when Seetha, a zebra brought from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur, Chennai, in April 2002, died due to old age.

As part of the animal exchange, the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo will send a male lion-tailed macaque and a king cobra to Vantara.

Zoo Director Manjuladevi said the return of zebras after several years was a matter of great joy and would be a special attraction for visitors during the Onam season.

Arrangements are being made under the leadership of Zoo Superintendent T V Anil Kumar, with officials aiming to make the zebras available for public viewing during the Onam holidays.