Lanka, Czech Republic swap jumbos for hippos and horses

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Thursday swapped a pair of hippos, a couple of wild horses and komodo dragons from the Czech republic for two female elephants.

The animals sent from the Prague Zoo arrived here today aboard a Sri Lankan military aircraft which transported the two baby elephants on Saturday. "The three pairs of animals will be at the Dehiwala Zoo," an airport official said. The Czech foreign ministry said that the arrival of two female elephants in Prague over the weekend will help a domestic breeding programme. "Breeding the Sri Lankan elephants in Prague will significantly help to extend the genetic base of the European breeding of Indian elephants," the ministry said in a statement. In exchange for the pair of jumbos, the Prague Zoo had given two Przewalski`s horses, two komodo dragons and two young hippopotamus to the Zoo in the Colombo suburb of Dehiwela. PTI