Bhubaneswar: Eighteen new guests arrived at Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) in Bhubaneswar Sunday afternoon from the Aizwal Zoological Park in Mizoram under an animal exchange programme.
Also read: Central govt should remove NMA bylaws for Puri Jagannath temple: CM Naveen
With this, the NZP has added 18 more number of species to its wildlife members. The proposal was approved by central zoo authorities under Section 38I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for the purpose of breeding, pairing and conservation of wildlife, an NZP official said.
According to a source, the new animals include two Himalayan black bears, two wild dogs, six Asian brown tortoises, two Assam macaques and six stump-tailed macaques. Each species will have requisite pairs of a male as well as a female, the NZP official added.
Nandankanan got the pair of Himalayan black bears in exchange of four common peafowls. Health conditions of all the new guests were thoroughly checked after their arrival here and are stable now.
“Health conditions of the 18 new guests are stable now. They will certainly become centre of attraction for visitors in the coming days,” Amulya Kumar Parida, Assistant Director of Nandankanan said.
Notably, Nandankanan Zoological Park is a 437-hectare (1,080-acre) zoo and botanical garden in Odisha, India. Established in 1960, it was opened to the public in 1979 and became the first zoo in India to join the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2009.
NZP had earlier written to the central zoo authorities seeking to get 18 animals from the Aizwal Zoological Park December 23 last year.
PNN