Bhubaneswar: The Nandankanan Zoo authorities organised a function for christening 6 tiger cubs as part of the celebration of its 62nd Foundation Day on Wednesday.
There cubs born to zoo inmates Bijaya and Megha were named Sohini, Abhay, Vivek, Rocky, Bansi and Rakesh. The names were selected by the visitors through lottery system.
The zoo, which was founded on December 29, 1960, wore a festive look on the occasion. The entire campus was adorned with regalia and different programmes were organised for which the visitors were informed earlier.
On the occasion, the zoo authorities also fitted an Indian Pangolin (Bajrakapta) with satellite transmitters and released in the forest area. This and other achievements of the Nandankanan were announced at a function attended by PCCF Sisir Kumar Ratho and Shashi Paul.
They spoke on the zoo’s expansion plans and promised to transform it into a world class zoo in 2022.
The Nandankanan Zoological Park including the Botanical Garden is spread across an area of 437 hectare and is home to more than 2,500 animals. A destination spot for national and international tourists, the park gets a steady stream of visitors round the year.
The Botanical Garden of Nandankanan was reopened on December 1 after remaining closed for along time due to COVID pandemic.