Birthday celebration for Nandankanan Zoo inmates

Bhubaneswar, Jul 23 (UNI) Good news for inmates of Nandankanan Zoo here. They too now celebrate their birthday with the visitors.

The zoo authority has planned to celebrate birthday of important animals and birds inside their enclosures.

The first birth day celebration inside the zoo will commence on August 1 next and three white tigers born to Rohita and Sailaja pair of Nandankanan breed will be celebrating their B'day with much fanfare.

Nandankanan Zoo Director Ajit Pattnaik told UNI that on August one, two male white tigers-''Rishi'' and ''Switess'' and one tigress ''Prachi' would turn two years old to celebrate their birthday.

The Zoo officials will decorate the enclosures of the three white animals with flowers and a ''happy birth day'' banner. The main entrance of the Zoo would have a board indicating the birthday of the tigers and a brief history of their clan.

This board will display the birth day of all the zoo inmates from August 1 and their enclosures to the visitors in a bid infuse a sense of love towards the animals and birds housed inside the zoo.

Mr Pattnaik said initially it has been decided to celebrate the birthday of 12 important species numbering less than 80 but the birthday of all other inmates would be displayed on the board for the knowledge of the visitors.

He said of the 19 lions, the zoo has the birth day record of only 8 while the birthday of all the 30 odd tigers including 19 white would be celebrated. The other inmates who would also enjoy the celebrations were 12 primates and as many bear besides 30 other birds and animals including some popular elephants.

Mr Pattnaik said the zoo would celebrate every month birthday at least two or three animals inside their enclosures.

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