Renovated enclosure for Himalayan Bears, nursery for animal off-springs

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Barang: In what could bring smiles to the faces of animal lovers, the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) authorities are all set to unveil a renovated enclosure for the Himalayan Bear and a nursery for rearing abandoned animal off-springs on its foundation day December 29.
Sources said, the NZP authorities are struggling hard to complete construction of the renovated enclosure and the nursery at the earliest and have them launched on the foundation day.
“The construction work is nearing completion. All the works are being done in line with the guidelines laid down by the Central Zoo Authority of India. The enclosure has been redesigned after considering the specifications of NZP’s Herbivore Safari and also as a sort of emulation of the Hyderabad Zoo,” said range officer Samir Sahu who is supervising the construction of these facilities here.
Sprawling over an area of 1,350 square metres, the new Himalayan Bear enclosure is being built with a sum of `30 lakh after widening the area of the existing enclosure. The enclosure has two feeding chambers, measuring 2.5 metres in length and 1.5 metres in width, a 90-square metre keeper corridor and an artificial water body measuring 90 metres in width and 3 metres in depth.
A 2.5-metre deep and 23-metre long moat that has been built will be kept dry. “Himalayan Bears prefer hanging around trees and swimming in water bodies. Even if they remain in the pond, the moat will be kept dry round the year so that visitors can easily view them any time. There is of course a small water body there to help the animals quench their thirst,” range officer Sahu added.
Apart from a giant wood log, artificial cement logs, artificial springs and caves have been built in the enclosure in an attempt to give a natural look to the closed space. Moreover, the enclosure is surrounded by a 405-metre long concrete wall. There are provisions to accommodate two or four Himalayan Bears in the enclosure, sources said.
“Apart from safety, our primary objective is to make the Himalayan Bears feel that the enclosure is just like their natural habitat,” the range officer remarked.
As for the nursery, a sprawling 700-square feet of land has been used for the purpose of rearing up abandoned animal babies – all this coming at a cost of `5 lakh.
“Animal babies who are neglected by their mothers and young ones which have been rescued and brought to NZP will also be nurtured here,” a senior NZP official said.