On being informed, a team of officials of Nandankanan Zoo and the Chandaka forest division rushed to the spot and launched efforts to drive away the wild herd. Efforts are on to keep a track on the movements of the elephants and prevent them from entering into the Zoo.
The pachyderms are believed to have come from Athagarh forest division. After entering Chandaka, they are now wandering around the Zoological Park, reports said.
When contacted, Sanjit Kumar, deputy director, Nandankanan Zoological Park, said, “As per the available information, a herd comprising 15-16 wild jumbos from Athagarh division has strayed into Chandaka and is now close to the boundary of Nandankanan Zoological Park. Our staff along with Chandaka forest division staff are in the spot since morning. They are keeping a track on the movement of the jumbos.”
“The elephant driving and guiding launch will begin after sunset so that the pachyderms go back to a better habitat. Efforts are also on to prevent them from entering into the zoological park.”
Notably, two wild elephants had broken the fences and managed to enter the zoological park. Visitors were restricted from visiting the park to prevent any risk or damage.
The reason behind the death of the cub is yet to be ascertained. However, the condition of the other two cubs, including a normal coloured female cub and another white male cub, is stated to be stable, said authorities at the Nandankanan Zoo.
The three cubs were reportedly being hand reared by the Zoo authorities as Tigress Rupa, who had become mother for the first time, could not tend to the newborns.
The three cubs, including the one which died today, were being fed reconstituted milk as supplement, added reports.
Meanwhile, the two cubs and their mother have been under CCTV surveillance to monitor their health, added the Zoo authorities.
On the other hand, carcasses of two jumbos, including a baby elephant were found near Guhalia village in Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary under Nilgiri forest range of Balasore district on Sunday.
Forest officials rushed to the spot after receiving the news of the death of the elephants. Balasore DFO Bimal Prasanna Acharya, ACFO Sushant Jena, Kuldiha Forest Ranger Ananta Jena and Panchalingewar Forestor Bhagyshree Dwibedi also reached the spot and joined the investigation.
Similarly, Forest Veterinary Officer of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) Dr Piyush Soren along with a dog squad from Similipal reached the spot for investigation.
The Forest officials said the animals might have died due to some medical condition while the locals of Guhalia alleged that the elephants were killed by poachers as their tusks were missing.
“We heard the elephants were making loud screams on the day of the incident. Later, we heard an elephant has been found dead in the forest. Now, we learnt a carcass of another baby elephant was found by the Forest officials. This must be the handiwork of the poachers,” alleged a local.
Meanwhile, the Forest officials have also intensified patrolling in the region suspecting rampant poaching in the sanctuary.
All possible arrangements have been made by the concerned administration for resuming the train services. Tourists will get to experience this train ride through the woods of the zoological park.
The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has provided the financial assistance for the Toy train project. A broad gauge of 1.2 km track has been constructed for the train and the train has 4 coaches to accommodate 74 passengers.
Moreover, the train is scheduled to operate between 9 AM To 5PM with total 12 trips, ferrying around 700 tourists every day. Moreover, the foundation stone of the new rope way facility will also be laid in the zoo.
Almost after a decade-long halt, the ropeway services will begin in the zoological park again. These two attractions of the Nandankanan Zoological Park were closed due to high maintenance cost.
However, the news of recommencement of these services brought delight for the tourists visiting the zoological park.
According to Deputy Director of Nandankanan Zoo, the incident occurred at around 10:30 AM, when the bus got stuck in mud during the safari. Later another bus was sent to bring back to stranded visitors.
The authorities said that this is a regular practice and anytime a bus gets stuck, another safari bus is sent to bring the passengers back. The zoo authorities also informed that no visitors were hurt in the incident and the safari resumed normally after that.
As per reports, 12 vultures have been brought to the newly inaugurated breeding centre from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
“Vultures have been virtually wiped out from the State. Now we have brought the extinct species for breeding here so that their population will increase. Besides, there is a requirement of vultures here as they feed on carcasses,” said Bijayshree Routray, Forest and Environment Minister, on the sidelines of its 59th Foundation day of the zoological park.
Chief Wildlife Warden Sandeep Tripathy said vultures will be released from the zoo once their population increases at the breeding centre. He also informed that anacondas and giraffes will also be brought to Nandankanan as part of an exchange program with other zoos.
Sources said authorities of the zoological park have also got approval for breeding of pangolin at the zoo.
In another major move, the State government has decided to increase the area of the zoological park from 437 acre to 1,000 acre.
“The entry and exit points to Nandankanan will be changed and a multi layer parking area will be set up. The road connecting the zoological park and Barang station will also be well illuminated," Tripathy stated.
Meanwhile, authorities of the zoological park organised special functions to attract visitors on its 59th foundation day.
Deputy Director of the zoo, Jayant Kumar Das said the white tigress delivered the first cub at 7:05 AM and the second one at 8:00 AM today. Out of two cubs, one is a white tiger while the other one is a Royal Bengal tiger.
Vijaya delivered the cubs out of mating with normal coloured tiger Roshan during June this year, Das further informed.
Health condition of the two cubs and the tigress is stable and they are being monitored, said sources.
Authorities of the zoo said for the next few days the cubs will not be released into the enclosure.
In January this year, white tigress Ankita had given birth to two normal-coloured cubs in an enclosure of the zoo.
Apart from the two cubs, the zoo has at present eight white tigers, two black tigers and 14 Royal Bengal tigers.
The operation to tranquillise tigress Sundari had resumed day before yesterday with the help of kumki (trained) elephant ‘Jashoda’ brought from Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary. The elephant was accompanied by four mahouts and a team of forest officials.
Earlier, a team of experts from Madhya Pradesh had failed to capture Sundari.
The tigress brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in June, was released into the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in August as part of the tiger relocation project.
But after the tigress allegedly killed two persons and a bullock in separate incidents in Baghamunda and Tainsi villages inside the tiger reserve last month triggering tension in the area, the State government had decided to capture the big cat and release it into Nandankanan Zoo.
The animals coming from the Aizwal Zoo in Mizoram reached Nandankanan around 9.30 PM on Thursday night.
"As the species are new to the zoo, they have been kept in quarantines for observation following which they will be released to their respective enclosures for display, " informed officials.
With addition of the new animals, the number of species has increased to 157.
Earlier in March this year, a pair of Red Hand Tamarin and a pair of Black tufted Marmoset were brought to the zoo from Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
Bhubaneswar: One of the three injured who were rammed by a bus outside the Lion safari inside Nandankanan Zoological Park on January 3, died late Sunday night while undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.
The deceased, Amiya Bharimal, was from Mahuria village in Khurda district.
Bharimal along with his two friends were moving inside the zoo when the safari bus hit them from behind. They were admitted to a private hospital in the city following the incident.
While the two others had sustained minor injuries, Bharimal’s condition was critical and was undergoing treatment in ICU.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased demanded arrest of the zoo officials alleging that Bharimal died due to the negligence of the zoo authorities.
"The incident occurred due to the carelessness of the safari driver, said Deputy Director of Nandankanan Zoological Park, Jayant Kumar Das.
https://youtu.be/ZOjHdGZz_rk
According to reports, the safari bus ran into a group of visitors inside the zoo after the driver lost control of the vehicle due to suspected ‘technical glitch’.
All the injured are from Mahuria village in Khurda district and they have been admitted to a private hospital in the city. The condition of one person is said to be critical. He is undergoing treatment in the ICU.
Also Read: Visitors get stuck at Lion Safari in Nandankanan Zoo
“We were moving inside the zoo when the safari bus hit us from behind. The Nandankanan Zoo authorities are responsible for the incident,” said Surya Prasad Mangaraj, an injured.
Following the mishap, tension prevailed in Nadankanan Zoological Park with tourists demanding action against erring driver for such negligence.
Concerns are now being expressed over safety of tourists as earlier a bus had skidded off the road and stuck inside lion safari in November last year. Though nobody was injured in the mishap, the tourists were stranded in the bus till alternative arrangements were made to evacuate them.
https://youtu.be/i_QqUmIDVwQ
Odisha Forest and Environment Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra inaugurated the special enclosure in presence of Sandip Tripathy, PCCF (Chief Wildlife Warden) and Sisir Kumar Acharya, Zoo director during a function at the park.
Announcing a slew of developmental projects to increase the tourist footfalls and ensure better facilities at the park, Suresh Mohapatra said the state government has allocated a budget of Rs 30 crore for setting up a multi-storeyed parking lot, food court and development of the nearby bus stand.
Similarly, a major part of the Bhubaneswar-Nandankanan main road which did not have street lights earlier will now have lighting facility and half of the project cost will be borne by the zoo authority and the rest will be provided by the BDA.
Mohapatra also said that the toy train facility and ropeway ride which were inoperational for some time now will be restarted by the next financial year. "This apart, an approach road project to the Botanical Garden is also on the anvil," Mohapatra said.
Speaking on the occasion, Suresh Mohapatra also said, "Over the last year a lot of developmental works has been done for the betterment of the park and the employees working in it. Special incentives, housing facilities for employees and regularisation of jobs has been done,"
"Similarly, since it takes only 15 to 20 minutes from the park to reach Chandaka forest we are planning to extend the area of the park and include the jungle safari in it," Mohapatra added.
With vacation time on, the park has been witnessing huge footfall and the authorities have made all arrangements to ensure hassle free visit of tourists.
Nandankan is home to 154 species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals with a total of nearly 3000 animals. The Zoological Park together with the Kanjia lake and State Botanical Garden spread over an area of 4.37 sq. Km is rich in diverse flora and fauna.
The zoo was established in 1960 and thrown open to the public in 1979. In 2009 Nandankanan became the first zoo in India to become a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo is known internationally for successfully breeding black panthers, gharials, and white tigers in captivity.
https://youtu.be/J_cxUjUfw40
Bhubaneswar: An 8-year-old male leopard died at the Nandankanan Zoological Park here on Monday morning, zoo officials informed.
The leopard was brought to the Nandankanan zoo in March 2013 from Junagarh zoo in Gujarat. With the death of the animal, the number of leopard in the zoo has been reduced to seven (3 male and 4 female).
As per reports, the leopard fell sick on Sunday following which it was shifted to isolation ward for intensive treatment but it was found dead at 5 am today.
The exact cause of the death could be ascertained only after post-mortem by experts from the College of Veterinary Science, a release of the zoo said.
Also Read: Nandankanan’s lone zebra dies due to suspected lightning
Similarly in September this year, the lone zebra in the zoo, which was brought from Israel’s Tel Aviv zoo in 2015, was found dead in its enclosure.
https://youtu.be/1_kvl5AeCC8
Official sources said two Nilgiri Langurs, four white Peafowls, 10 Painted Storks and four Reticulated Pythons have been brought to Nandankan from Chennai Zoo in exchange of 19 animals.
This apart, eight Iguanas have also been brought to the Zoological Park. All new members have been placed under quarantine.
The animals the Nandankanan Zoo authorities exchanged with the Chennai Zoo include two Himalayan Black Bears, one Siamese Crocodile, two Water Monitor Lizards, 10 White Ibis and four Open Bill Storks as per the approval of the Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi, sources informed.
The 18-year-old tigress died due to old age, official sources said.
Kusum was earlier kept off display since 2014 following illness and reduction in her movement. She was kept in the feeding chamber of the safari in the zoo.
The zoo authorities informed that she had reduced food intake after falling sick in July 2017 and completely left diet in the last three days.
Kusum had bred seven off springs in three litters (5 white and 2 normal) and all total 18 to her credit, sources said.
Also Read: Nandankanan observes World Elephant Day
Visitors were seen standing in queues in large numbers to collect entry tickets at the zoo where the ticket fee has been hiked recently.
Devidutta, a visitor from a neighbouring State said, “I would like to congratulate the zoo authorities for early restoration to facilitate public visit at the zoological park.”
Detailing on the work and damages at the zoo, Kamal Lochan Purohit, assistant director of Nandankanan, said, “This is the fourth time the zoo has been closed due to natural calamities in recent past. More than 100 trees were damaged and power lines were snapped because of heavy wind caused by the Nor'wester. As ticket bookings and checking is done through computerized systems, entry of visitors was stopped due to the power failure. The restoration work took two days because of the severity of damages to 33Kv lines. Otherwise, there were minimal damages to animal enclosures at the zoo.”
Recently, the Nandankanan zoo authorities hiked fee for adults more than 12 years of age to Rs 40 from Rs 25 per head. No charges will be imposed for carrying film and digital camera inside the zoo.
Adults more than 12 years of age who had to pay Rs 25 as entry fee earlier will now be charged Rs 40 per head. Meanwhile, the fee for film and digital still camera that was Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively has now been made free. Also, the visit to aquarium and walk through aviary, each of which cost Rs 5 and Rs 10 for children and adults (over age 12) respectively will now be free.
No fee will be levied for use of toilet and drinking water facility as well.
Similarly, the State Botanical Garden entry fee has been increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20. For use of handy cam and high end video camera the fee remains Rs 100 and Rs 500 respectively.
The other six tiger cubs at the zoo including three females were named as Sahil, Adyasa, Vicky, Chinu, Mousumi and Kundan.
Around a year ago, the seven cubs were born to female tigresses Bijaya, Megha and Sneha at Nandankanan.
The zoo authorities have decided to keep the cubs of Bijaya and Megha in the enclosures to let visitors see the baby big cats while cubs of Sneha will be kept at the enclosures later.
The State’s Forest and Environment minister Bijayshree Routray also visited the zoological park today to be part of the naming ceremony.
Announcing this on the occasion of World Wetlands Day on Thursday, Sisir Kumar Acharya, Director, Nandankanan Zoological Park, said the state government has approved the action plan and sanctioned Rs 44 lakh for renovation work of the lake to be undertaken by the Chilika Development Authority (CDA).
Talking about the condition of the lake, Acharya said the lake would be dredged as its water level has become considerably low due to high sedimentation and dense weeds.
He also said there is constant water-logging in a farm which is just behind the Botanical garden inside the Zoological Park. “Taking note of this, we have decided to raise its ground level so that there would be no more water-logging and we would get more fodder from the farm,” he added.
Earlier in the day, a rally was organised inside the Park premises this morning in which several school students participated to mark the World Wetlands Day. Several competitions were held among the students and awards were presented to the winners in the presence of senior Zoo officials.
The launch of the online ticketing services would allow the visitors to book their tickets by visiting www.nandankanan.org . As part of this initiative, visitors will be able to book entry tickets for the park as well as for picnics at the botanical garden. However, the price of online ticket will be marginally higher than the offline one, informed sources.
While tiger Nandan, Megha and her cubs were brought to an enclosure for display, a jackal enclosure was also inaugurated. The statue of tigress Kanan was also unveiled during the Foundation Day.
Moreover, 40 CCTV cameras have been installed to keep track of the visitors’ movement inside the zoo. From the next year onwards, the zoo is planning to bring new species including an Anaconda and two male Gharial crocodiles from Lucknow. Apart from this, the Zoo is planning to install a toy train next year, for which Rs 3 crore has been budgeted.
A memorabilia was also launched during the ceremony.
“Tigers were shifted to the display enclosure, which is going to be a big attraction. In future, we are looking to have a toy train and to operate the ropeway, which is now defunct. The work on these will begin very soon as work orders have been given. We expect the work to be completed in the next 1-2 years. The entire park has been brought under CCTV surveillance, which will allow monitoring in a real time basis” said Forest and Environment secretary, Suresh Mohapatra.
Also Read: Nandankanan gets 24 new guests
“Our aim always is to provide better facilities to the visitors. On our 57th Foundation Day today, we are introducing the online ticketing system, which will allow the visitors to book tickets online on their PCs and mobile phones. We will also install 40 CCTV cameras for the benefit of tourists and it will be helpful in keeping track of them in case they get lost,” said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife), Siddharth Das.
“We are planning to get some new animals from Lucknow. Moreover, there are plans to bring some animals from Chennai, and the proposal is pending before the Central Zoo Authority and after a meeting of the Technical committee is convened, we are likely to get an approval,” said Zoo director, Sishir Kumar Acharya.
One tiger, two white wild chickens, five red wild chickens, seven mouse deer, five slender snouted crocodiles and two pairs of painted storks were among the new entrants to the zoological park.
One female tiger, one female mouse deer and five water lizards were sent to the zoos from where the animals and birds were brought here in exchanges with approval from the Central Zoo Authority.
According to zoo officials, the health condition of both the tigress and cubs are stable.
Though the colours of the cubs are yet to be ascertained, the CCTV footage from the enclosure shows Sneha is taking care of her cubs.
This is the second delivery of the tigress. Prior to this, Sneha had given birth to four tiger cubs. A male giraffe was brought to Nandankanan from Alipore zoo by exchanging a tiger given birth to by Sneha.
"We are taking special care of Sneha and her cubs," said a zoo official. With the birth of the three cubs today, the number of tigers at the zoological park has now reached 24.
Born on June 18, 2015, Gouri was under treatment for tympany related gastritis under the supervision of a health committee, zoo officials said. It had difficulties in urination and its urinary bladder had been operated upon by a team of experts from veterinary college on June 28, they said.
Post-surgery, Gouri's health condition was being monitored round-the-clock. The death came at 4.45 am today.
The exact reason for the death will be clear after post mortem, zoo officials said.
After the death of Gouri, there are now just two bisons left - one male and one female, they said.
Notably, Sushama, the oldest female tiger at the Nandankanan zoo, had died yesterday due to old age-related ailments. Born of Debashish and Yamuna on December 29, 1995, Sushama was undergoing treatment since last three years.
After Sushama’s death, there are now 21 tigers left in Nandankanan – 15 normal colour tigers (NCT) and six white tigers.
According to zoo sources, the elephant died this morning after its stomach swelled due to indigestion.
When media persons wanted to know the reason behind the death, the Zoo authorities said ‘Jagan’ was suffering from a stomach ailment and was being treated at the Zoo hospital since Sunday.
Despite the efforts of some experienced doctors and all medication, the jumbo’s health didn’t improve and it died this morning, they said.
Zoo authorities said the matter will be probed to find out the exact cause of the death.
The animal was brought to the zoo on December 11, 2009 after being rescued from a jungle in Sundargarh district in an injured condition.
According to zoo sources, Megha gave birth to the two cubs at the enclosure number-31.
Authorities of the zoo are quite excited at the birth of the two cubs and are leaving no stones unturned to take care of the mother and the new borns.
While Megha was residing at the Zoological Park, the cubs have been fathered by Nandan, who force entered the park from Chandaka jungle in 2013.
Following the incident, the zoo authorities had kept both Nandan and Megha together in an enclosure and planned for their reproduction.
The jumbo used the same path, which it took to enter into the safari, to go back to the nearby forest, they added.
Further, sources added authorities of the zoo have started construction work of the damaged boundary wall that was demolished by the pachyderm.
Meanwhile, it is not the first instance of a wild animal entering the zoological park which is close to Chandaka forest.
In 2013, a wild male tiger had strayed into the zoological park in search of a mate while putting the authorities of the zoo on toes for a considerable period.
As per reports, the Athagarh forest officials received information about an ailing 50-year-old elephant inside Balikiari forest reserve under Narsinghpur range nearly five days back.
The elephant was not able to walk and eat properly when it was spotted in the forest. Subsequently, a team of veterinary doctors and experts from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and Nandankanan was called in to examine the pachyderm.
The medical team found that the elephant could not even digest food.
Later, the team conducted a two-hour long treatment by making the elephant sub-conscious using mild tranquilisers. The team with the help of forest officials used huge wooden sticks to keep the animal in a standing position.
“The treatment was definitely a challenge for me. If an elephant falls down, it becomes difficult to make it stand. Therefore, we used less dosages of anesthesia and started the treatment,” Dr. Indramani Nath said.
Sources said the elephant along with its herd had strayed into Narsinghpur range from Dhenkanal a few days back and was left in the forest alone subsequently developing health issues.
“The treatment procedure took around two hours and the animal is doing well now. We have kept a track on the movement of the elephant and will look after it until full recovery,” informed Athagarh Divisional Forest Officer Sasmita Lenka.
"Closure of Nandankanan Zoological Park and State Botanical Garden extended until further orders as a precautionary measure against the spread of Novel Coronavirus," said the official notification released by the Deputy Director of the Nandankanan Zoological Park.
The zoo and the garden were earlier shut for the public from May 1 to 15.
The Covid situation in Khordha district, particularly Bhubaneswar, is turning worrisome as the daily infection has been rising exponentially. While the district has crossed the daily mark of 1,500 cases six times in the last seven days, the Capital City has been contributing the bulk infection.
The State on Friday reported 12,390 new Covid-19 cases while 22 patients succumbed to the virus. Out of the total cases reported today, Khordha remained on the top with 2,201 cases and four fatalities.
With this, the positive tally in Khordha surged to 91,850 while the death toll stood at 400. The district currently has 15,937 active cases while 75,503 patients have recovered from the disease so far.
While the local people have been asked not to venture out alone in the night, morning walkers have also been stopped from entering a specific area near the airport, as the officials are suspecting the presence of the leopard in the area.
"I saw the leopard loitering near the tower around 4:40 am and later the animal jumped the wall towards the city. It is big in size," said TS Ahmad, a security officer deployed at the ATS tower.
A special team of the Forest Department has been deployed to capture the wild animal. The team has launched a search operation to locate the leopard in the area.
Sources said a team from Nandankanan Zoological Park is also present at the spot to oversee the situation.
A Forest Department official said, "All our staff were on duty throughout the night. The leopard is in the airport area and we are trying our best to tranquilise the animal unharmed."
As per latest information, a team of Forest Department & CISF led by city DFO has started an operation to capture the leopard along with a tranquiliser team of Nandankanan. The old airport road has also been sealed for the operation.
The leopard was reportedly spotted in the area on Sunday. The visuals of the leopard entering the campus of a commercial establishment were captured in CCTV cameras. The wild animal had entered the office premises after scaling the boundary wall of the Bhubaneswar airport, said one Bankanidhi Senapati, who claimed that he saw the big cat at around 10: 30 PM on Sunday.
According to sources, the death of the wolf has been termed as ‘mysterious’ by the zoo authorities as the animal was reportedly healthy and active in the quarantine enclosure.
Meanwhile, an expert team from College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry (CVS & AH) and Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT) will visit the zoo to conduct a post-mortem of the wolf to ascertain the exact cause of death. A detailed report will be prepared after the post-mortem.
The Nandankanan Zoological Park now has one male grey wolf and it is looking for one male and two female grey wolfs from other zoos in the country, sources said.
The zoological park was closed for an indefinite period after the extremely severe cyclone hit Odisha earlier this month. While several enclosures built for the animals, birds and reptiles were damaged, hundreds of trees at the zoo and medicinal plants at the botanical garden were also either uprooted or damaged due to Fani.
"I was in the railway station when I got the news that the Nandankanan is reopening after a gap of 19 days after the cyclone. Everything seems to be empty here now after the cyclone. What we had seen in TV, we are now witnessing the same. Many trees have been damaged and uprooted, " said Aravind Sekhar, a visitor from Kendrapara.
Speaking about the reopening, a Zoo official said, "We are very happy that people from different parts of the country have arrived here to see the animals and birds enthusiastically. Though there was no causality during the cyclone, we incurred a loss of around Rs 4.5 crore due to the cyclone."
Post cyclone, the zoo authorities carried out the restoration work on a war footing and decided to reopen it today.
The zoo and garden will remain out of bounds for public from May 1 to 15, said the official notification issued by the Deputy Director of Nandankanan Zoological Park on Friday.
The move came in as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19, added the NZP Deputy Director.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has closed all the religious places in the Capital City from April 21 until further orders. The Lingaraj Temple was shut down from April 18 in view of the rising cases of Coronavirus in Bhubaneswar.
Khordha district, of which Bhubaneswar is a part, reported highest 1,408 cases in Odisha on Friday.
Bhubaneswar logged 851 cases yesterday which took the positive tally in the Capital City to 43,296. This includes 6,913 active cases, 259 deaths and 36,103 recoveries, said a released by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
As per reports, the great ape named ‘Binny’ was undergoing treatment for old-age complications under the supervision of experts from the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, OUAT for last one year.
Three days earlier, she developed severe cold and old-age related respiratory tract issues. She died at around 9.40 pm yesterday.
The zoo authorities have said that the exact cause of death of the orangutan will be known after its post mortem today.
Orangutan Bini was brought to Nandankanan from Pune’s Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in November 20, 2003 when she was 25 years old.
Experts opine that orangutans can sometimes live up to 45 years in the wild and even more in the zoos.
As per reports, the animals will be brought from the Netherlands and the permission regarding the same has already been given by the Central Zoo Authority of India, informed Chief Wildlife Warden of Odisha, Ajay Kumar Mohapatra today.
"We have got permission to bring 2 African cheetahs and a zebra from the Netherlands. We have made all arrangements and the animals will be brought soon," Mohapatra said.
Last year, in June, the zoo had brought a pair of Assamese Macaques, a pair of wild dogs and a female Himalayan Black Bear.
The zoological park was shutdown temporarily after being hit by cyclone Fani on May 3. Later, it was re-opened for public on May 21.
As per reports, 'Priyanka' was unwell due to age-related ailments and undergoing treatment at a veterinary hospital in the zoo premises for the past two years. She breathed her last at 10.30 AM today.
The normal coloured tigress was born in 2000 to tiger Ashok and tigress Tanuja in the zoo.
With Priyanka’s death, the Nandankanan Zoo is left with a total of 26 tigers including 13 normal, nine white and four melanistic tigers. It is pertinent to mention that the zoo is famous for its tiger population and captive breeding of the big cat.
Earlier, on September 2, 2018, a 10-year-old Royal Bengal tiger named ‘Manish’ died while undergoing treatment for blood Protozoan disease at the zoo.
Including Kamala, three elephants have fallen prey to the herpes virus in the past 25 days at Nandankanan Zoological Park.
As per reports, there are only five female elephants including two sub-adults at the zoo. Kamala was born on August 1, 2013 and was brought to the zoo from Orissa Veterinary College in November 2013.
Earlier, female elephant Julie and male tusker Chandan had died due to herpes virus on August 25 and September 15, 2019, respectively.
“It is suspected that the death of the elephant could be due to herpes virus and efforts are on to ascertain the reason behind the outbreak of the virus,” said Nandankanan Deputy Director, Jayant Das.
Das further stated that two more elephants have been kept under observation.
Dr Alok Das, senior veterinarian at Nandankanan Zoo stated that “Following the deaths of some elephants in Dhenkanal, it was ascertained that the death of jumbos was due to herpes virus.”
Some locals reportedly spotted the elephant and immediately informed the Forest department officials following which a team from Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT) and specialist from Assam visited the spot to assess the health condition of the pachyderm. The team, from its preliminary examination, suspected herpes virus as the reason, however, said that it can be confirmed only after laboratory tests of the samples collected from the animal.
“Doctors suspected that the elephant is affected by herpes virus. There are no precautionary measures to avoid herpes. Besides, we don’t have facilities for immediate blood test of the animals falling prey to the virus. However, efforts are on to curb spread of the virus in Odisha,” informed Chief Wildlife Warden, Harishankar Upadhyay.
“From the symptoms, we suspect it to be affected by herpes. However, we will be able to ascertain the exact reason of the animal’s illness only after laboratory test of the collected samples,” said National Project Coordinator of elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV), G Mahato.
According to Nandankanan deputy director Jayant Kumar Das, Subhranshu died at 10.15 AM today. The tiger was suffering from liver-related ailments for the last one month.
Das said the white tiger suddenly collapsed on Saturday and had stopped eating food. The tiger was kept under the supervision of experts from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology(OUAT).
With the death of the white tiger, population of tigers at Nandankanan plummeted to 25. At present the zoo has 12 male and 13 female tigers.
The white tiger was born to Manish and Sneha at the Nandankanan on July 28, 2014.
As per the preliminary post mortem findings, the tiger Subhranshu died due to haemmoragic enteritis, hepatitis, jaundice and ascites suspected for tick borne protozoan disease. Samples (necropsy) collected from dead body parts for molecular confirmation and hist-pathological examination.
Meanwhile, the Nandankanan Zoo authorities have decided to undertake several steps after the death of the tiger in tick borne blood protozoan disease. The authorities have decided to clean up surroundings of carnivore enclosures up to 10 ft from the boundary wall and spraying of acaricide and intensifying anti-tick measures. Besides, steps will be taken to explore possibility of vaccinating the canines and felines against blood protozoan disease, using vaccines available outside India, if any, the Zoo authorities said in a statement.
Recently, the zoo made headlines for series death of elephants after being affected by Herpes Virus, prompting the authorities to seek assistance from experts of Assam and Kerala.
As per reports, three enclosures were inaugurated today to accommodate some exotic primate species like Red hand tamarin, Tufted capuchin and Common squirrel monkey. Apart from that, two tiger cubs named as Spandan and Basu who were born to tigress Renuka and tiger Samrat were also sent to special enclosure.
On the occasion of foundation day, Congress MLA Sura Routray attended the event as chief guest.
As per Nandankanan authorities, the 14-year-old leopard named “Barsa” breathed her last yesterday. She was suffering from recurrent rectal prolapse since August, 2019.
After going through treatment on December 21, the leopard was again shifted to the Zoo Hospital for treatment yesterday morning after her condition started to deteriorate, informed authorities.
The animal was showing signs of nervousness and respiratory distress terminally, added the officials.
At the age of three months, Barsa was shifted to Nandankanan after being rescued from Chandaka wildlife reserve.
Now, one can avail the virtual facility of viewing the park by visiting the dedicated web link- nandankanan.org.
"Those who are unable to visit the Zoo due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation can now take a virtual tour of the zoo on their laptops or mobile phones," said Bimal Prasanna Acharya, deputy director of Nandankanan.
The virtual tour was reportedly planned a couple of months ago but it couldn't be materialised due to the COVID-19 restrictions.