Bhubaneswar: The central zoo authorities approved Wednesday for an exchange of animals between Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) in Bhubaneswar and the Aizwal Zoological Park in Mizoram.
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Under this programme, the NZP will add 18 more number of species to its wildlife members. The approval has been granted under Section 38I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for the purpose of breeding, pairing and conservation of wildlife, an NZP official informed.
According to a source, the new species of animals will be brought to Nandankanan from Mizoram under an exchange programme. The new animals include two Himalayan black bears, two wild dogs, six Asian brown tortoises, two Assam macaques and six stump-tailed macaques. Each species will have requisite pairs of a male as well as a female, a Nandankanan official added.
The Nandankanan zoo will get the pair of Himalayan black bears in exchange of four common peafowls.
Notably, Nandankanan Zoological Park is a 437-hectare (1,080-acre) zoo and botanical garden in Odisha, India. Established in 1960, it was opened to the public in 1979 and became the first zoo in India to join the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2009.
NZP had earlier written to the central zoo authorities seeking to get 18 animals from the Aizwal Zoological Park December 23 last year.
PNN