, 22 JULY - The Forest Department has renamed the Deer Park at Motijharan in Sambalpur city as "Sambalpur Zoo & Rescue Centre".
"The objective is to create more awareness on wildlife, more understanding of zoo and attract more visitors to Sambalpur," said Sambalpur DFO (WL) Ansuprangya Das.
A botanical garden of four-hectare area with more than 6,000 plants of different varieties was started by the Hirakud Wildlife Division last year which is acting as a greenbelt for the animals of the zoo also adding to visitors’ flow. The zoo was earlier named as Deer Park and Wild Animal Conservation Centre.
The zoo at the heart of Sambalpur, established in 1980 with a 13-hectare area, now has 27 enclosures of 15 species and 333 animals. Further, five Schedule-1 species are there like leopard, sloth bear, chousingha, python and peacock. The number of deer is the highest at 123, said the DFO.
The zoo acts as a centre for awareness and education on wildlife for general public. Better visitor amenities like more toilets, drinking water, cafeteria, exclusive parking, children's park, complete renovation of drainage and also of enclosures have been done. Every Saturday, storytelling sessions by eminent speakers on wildlife and conservation are conducted by the Hirakud Division authorities.
