World Elephant Day is being celebrated atNandankanan

Bhubaneswar(NANDAKANAN) 12/8/17:World Elephant Day is being celebrated to conserve and protect elephants from numerous threats they face now a days. The observance of the day may be symbolic, but it imbibes the spirit of better care and management of captive and wild elephants. The elephants who have made Orissa’s forest their home are listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, Jayant Kumar Das Deputy Director, Nandankanan Zoological Park.

Human-elephant conflict is an area of concern because of loss of habitation corridors of elephants following human interference. This leads the mammals to stray into human settlements in search  of food and fodder , thus sparking the outbreak of man-elephant confrontation, said officials.

The crying need of the hour is to protect the elephants, their natural habitats and the migration corridors. The observance of elephant is to inculcate awareness among the people and providing improved veterinary care for captive elephants, said the officials.

Among others who graced the occasion are Sandeep Tripathy, PCCF (WL) & CWLW, Sisir Kumar Acharya,, Director, Nandankanan Biological Park, Jayant Kumar Das Deputy Director, Nandankanan Zoological Park and Kamal Lochan Purohit Assistant Director, Nandankanan.

The members of NWCSO (Nature & Wildlife Conservation Society of Odisha) have also participated in this awareness programme. The celebration was observed with a mass awareness programme amongst the visitors, students from different schools, guides and staffs of Nandankanan with a message for elephant conservation.

The elephants were offered a special treat of coconut, banana, sugarcane, maize and apple. The mahouts were also felicitated in the auspicious occasion for their hard work.