View of the new enclosure at Nandankanan Zoological Park which will house animals from Assam State Zoo and (below) workers build a new enclosure for animals at the zoo. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 26: Nandankanan is all set to welcome 10 guests from the Assam State Zoo, Guwahati, in exchange of eight of its own animals. The animals from Guwahati will arrive on August 23.

The animals from the Assam zoo include three Manipuri deer, three leopard cats, two jungle cats and two slow loris. The animals will be taken here on August 23. The animals from Nandankanan will also reach Guwahati on the same day. Two white tigers (one male and female), two gharials and two pairs of zebra finch will be sent to Assam.

“The process started long ago, when our zoo director communicated to his Assamese counterpart and permission of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) was also sought. After getting permission, the exchange programme was finalised,” said assistant director of the zoo Kamal Lochan Purohit.

“In most of the species, we are getting both males and females, so that their growth is ensured. New enclosures are also under construction to house the animals. With the induction of the new animals, there will be 118 species in the zoo and the total number of animals will now reach 1,180,” the senior zoo officer said.

Of late, Nandankanan is losing its animals because of ageing. Therefore, the zoo authorities have decided to revive the exchange route to have more animals. In fact, in 2008, there was a plan to get a giraffe from the Calcutta zoo in exchange of nine animals after getting CZA nod. However, the giraffe died on its way to Bhubaneswar. The zoo also lost 22 animals in this process. Again in 2009, there was a plan to have an exchange programme with a Punjab zoo, but the proposal did not materialise.

In another development, the zoo authorities are planning to construct a Herbivour Safari inside the zoo, where three species of herbivours i.e. barking deer, spotted deer and sambar will be housed. Already 40 animals have been shifted to the safari and there will be 150 animals when the enclosure is ready for opening. With this, there will be three safaris in Nandankanan, i.e. lion, tiger and herbivour safaris. “We are also planning to have a bear safari for which preliminary planning has started. Details will be chalked out later,” said Purohit.

The zoo authorities, meanwhile, have introduced battery-operated vehicles inside the zoo to facilitate soundless and pollution-free travel for visitors from one enclosure to another. “The zoo should organise more awareness camps in educational institutions in the city to attract more students, so that more people can have a better idea about the animals and plants,” said Sujata Rath, a visitor.

“We are also having a pregnant chimpanzee, Purnima, inside its enclosure and because of the biological development process, the animal is not coming out. The veterinary experts hope that the animal will deliver by the end of the first week of August,” a zoo officer said.