Bhubaneswar: Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) celebrated its 64th Foundation Day, Friday, with the launching of the zoo’s portal and several new initiatives. Minister of Forests, Environment, and Climate Change Pradip Kumar Amat graced the occasion as the chief guest. Amat said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s dream and goal is to make Nandankanan a world-class and safe zoo. For this, as per the CM’s instructions, the Forest department is pumping in huge amounts of funds.
In this regard, 1,500 acre land has been provided to the zoo for the expansion and development of the zoo. The department’s additional chief secretary Satyabrata Sahu and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Susanta Nanda also graced the occasion as guests of honour. Sahu welcomed the guests and other dignitaries. On the occasion, eminent herpetologist Sudarsan Maharana was felicitated with the “Lifetime Commitment Award for Gharial Conservation” in recognition of his outstanding contribution towards crocodile conservation. Annual report for the year 2022- 23 and a dedicated website for State Botanical Garden – www.statebotanicalgardenodisha.org – were released on the occasion.
Further, an app ‘NIMS’ (Nandankanan Integrated Monitoring System) was released by the chief guest to aid zoo management with real-time monitoring, animal health tracking, visitor management and analytics for informed decision-making. The chief guest flagged off 16 rapid response team vehicles for patrolling at Similipal Tiger Reserve near the Botanical Garden entrance. Moreover, a modern wallaby enclosure with 340 sqm of nature immersive exhibit area that has been designed to house Parma wallabies, two feeding cells, and with provision of CCTV monitoring was inaugurated. Adding excitement to visitors’ experience, cassowaries and ostriches (both flightless birds) were released into the renovated large enclosures with enrichments.
Meanwhile, tiger and lion cubs were given names that have been finalised through online polls conducted by various social media platforms. The female cubs of tigress ‘Ankita’ were named ‘Shree’, ‘Trupti’, and ‘Jayashree’ while the male cub was named ‘Amit’. The male and female cubs of tigress ‘Rupa’ were named ‘Shiva’ and ‘Amrita’.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP