BHUBANESWAR: The Nandankanan Zoological Park is abuzz with activity. As the animal park prepares for putting in place its Herbivore Safari, it witnessed a slew of innovative methods adopted by the park officials and keepers. An expert from West Bengal has been busy shifting spotted and barking deer from their enclosures into the newly laid out safari using a corridor. A tunnel, created by soft nets with padding on either side, has been prepared by Subrat Pal Choudhury, a noted wild life expert, to transfer the deer from their enclosure into a vehicle which will carry them to the safari.Since deer are sensitive animals, they cannot be tranquillised and individual capture can be hazardous. With the distance between the enclosures and the safari being about 2.5 km, the Zoo had to adopt a new strategy. That’s when Choudhury came in.Choudhury prepared the ‘net’ tunnel which has three gates with plywood used as a ramp. The animals are lured into the tunnel by use of fodder and then moved through the doors to the vehicle which is specially designed to prevent injury to the animals. “In the last two days, we have been able to transfer about 44 spotted deer, while shifting of the barking deer will begin. After the first two days, the deer in the enclosure too have become conscious and we are going slow. We have to be patient with them,” said Siba Narayan Mohapatra, Deputy Director of the Zoo. The exercise will continue till July 28 (Thursday) after which the Zoo authorities will plan on unveiling the Herbivore Safari which has been created on a 50-acre patch. This will be the third safari in the Zoo after the lion and tiger safari.Boundary Wall CollapsesA 48-ft stretch of the boundary wall of Nandankanan Zoo collapsed on Tuesday leaving the authorities confused. This has left a large portion of the eastern side of the animal park open. Official sources said, a pond close to the boundary wall was being renovated. The earth from dredged wetland was spread out on the bund, close to the boundary wall of the Zoo. The torrential downpour and the pressure from the earth may have caused the collapse, Zoo Deputy Director SN Mohapatra told this paper. Although the Zoo officials perceived no danger to the park as of now, they were making efforts to close the affected portion. “Since the particular side abuts agricultural fields owned by villagers, we do not foresee any immediate problem. But we will raise the wall once again,” Mohapatra informed.
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