Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday named six new cubs — two snow leopards and four red pandas — born at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling.

The male leopard has been named ‘Charming’ and the female leopard ‘Darling’. Additionally, the four red panda cubs have been named as Victory, Dream, Pahadia, and Hilly.

The director of the zoo had invited Mamata Banerjee to name the cubs during her official visit to Darjeeling.

“She enquired about the zoo and conveyed her best wishes. She interacted with the shopkeepers of the zoo’s newly rented-out shops. It was an honour for us,” said the zoo director, Basavaraj Holeyachi.

In 1990, a breeding programme for red pandas with four wild animals began at the Darjeeling Zoo, also known as Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park.

The augmentation began in 2022 and between 2022 and 2024, nine captive-bred red pandas were released into Singalila National Park in Bengal. Five cub births were recorded in the wild.

Currently, the zoo houses four adult males, 11 adult females, four newborns, while some red pandas have been given to other zoos in India and abroad.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who reached Siliguri on Thursday, after her three-day Darjeeling tour, also convened a closed door meeting with her party leaders.