Bhubaneswar: The Nandankanan Zoological Park is all set to welcome two giraffes by the end of this month, informed Principal Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife, Susanta Nanda.
PCCF Shri Nanda said the pair of giraffes will be brought to the zoo from Alipore Zoological Garden, Kolkata under animal exchange program.
At present, one giraffe named Khushi is there in the Nandankanan Zoo. The addition of two new giraffes will further enhance the animal population in the Zoo.
Meanwhile, the male lion ‘Krish’, born in the Zoological Park in 2004, died on Wednesday due to old age. The zoo family mourned the loss of the aged Nandankanan born male lion that was one of the major tourist attractions in NZP.
With an aim to further enhance tiger population in the State, the Forest Department has also decided to bring five Royal Bengal Tigers to two wildlife sanctuaries of the State by September end.
The Chief Wildlife Warden said the five Royal Bengal Tigers will be released in Debrigarh and Similipal Wildlife sanctuaries. The tigers, who will be brought to Odisha, have been identified and all paper works have been completed, Nanda said.
Two forest teams from the State will visit Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in a week to initiate the programme, he informed. “We hope that the tigers will be brought by September end,” the PCCF Shri Nanda added.
Three Royal Bengal Tigers will be released in Debrigarh sanctuary while two others will be released in Similipal. All the five Royal Bengal Tigers will be brought from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the officials said.
As per plan, one Royal Bengal tiger and two tigresses will be released in the Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary while two RBTs will be released in Similipal Tiger Reserve to further increase the tiger population.
As the State has developed a good ecosystem and environment for the free movement of tigers, the tiger relocation programme has been planned, they said.
In its all Odisha Tiger Estimation conducted for the first time during 2023-24 in 47 forest divisions from October 15, 2023 to February 10, 2024, the State found 30 tigers and eight cubs
Out of 30 Royal Bengal Tigers, 27 were found in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR). In total, 13 adult tigers – seven females and six males – were found to be pseudo-melanistic in Similipal.
Besides the STR, Keonjhar territorial and Keonjhar wildlife, Paralakhemundi territorial, and Hirakud wildlife have one tiger each.
The presence of three unique adult male tigers camera-trapped in the Hirakud Wildlife Davison, Paralakhemundi Territorial Division, Keonjhar Territorial and Keonjhar Wildlife Division looks promising and provides hope for a better future for tigers in these habitats.