A big hoarding depicting "Elephant
Day" was fixed at the Sambar Square
of the zoo. The elephants received a special
treat of coconut and banana by Principal
Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Suresh
Chandra Mohanty. The mahouts were also felicitated
by Mohanty.
The prime attraction of the ceremony was
the three month old orphaned elephant calf
that was brought the zoo recently after
it was injured in a train accident in Barbil
area of Keonjhar district.
The school children were found quite busy
in choosing the name for the calf elephant.
Finally, a Class IX student named the calf
elephant as Amar with the reasoning that
it had survived the train accident that
claimed its mother and aunt.
A special awareness programme was organised
for the school children on the occasion.
More than 2000 school children were given
free entry into the zoo.
The children were told about the growing
human elephant conflict due to habitat degradation.
They were also apprised about the status
of elephant in the State, their conservation
need, their role in the ecosystem and what
people can do to save elephants.
A special education material in Oriya and
English depicting these issues was distributed
among the children.
Two state-of-the-art aviaries - one for
the highly threatened White Backed Vulture
and another for the Brahminy Kite - were
also dedicated to the public on during the
celebrations.
The Elephant Day celebrations, which coincided
with the celebration of the Wildlife Week,
was organised by the zoo authorities in
collaboration with the Chandaka Wildlife
Division; Nature and Wildlife Conservation
Society, Orissa; WWF Orissa; and CEE-Eastern
Regional Cell, Orissa.
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