Bhubaneswar, Sept 4: While the tiger population has declined in the state, the Nandankanan Zoological Park authorities are busy in exchanging big cats for hoolock gibbons, leopard cats, and Himalayan bears.
Two adult Royal Bengal tigers and three freshwater gharials were sent to Itanagar Zoo in July from Nandankanan in exchange for a hoolock gibbon and leopard cat.
Despite having seven Himalayan bears, including two female, and two hoolock gibbons, the Nandan Kanan authorities have further sent two tigers to Aizawl Zoological Park in Mizoram in lieu of two hoolock gibbons, two pig-tailed macaques and one female Himalayan bear.
Such a decision of the Nandankanan administration has raised concern among wildlife experts in the state.
The recent tiger census revealed that there are a total of 20 tigers present in Odisha forests. At this time, the Nandankanan Zoological Park had 31 tigers in total. It has sent four tigers within months when the state government has been taking initiatives to raise the big cat population in Odisha forests.
