SAMBALPUR: Ahead of the New Year, the Hirakud Wildlife Division has come up with a surprise package for the visitors to the Sambalpur Zoo with the opening of an Orchidarium, a rose garden and a first of its kind ‘Nocturnal House’ on the zoo premises.
The three new additions were opened to the public on Saturday. Of the three, the Noctural house is largely drawing the attention of the public for its unique concept. The 160-feet-long ‘Nocturnal House’ with an exhibit of Nocturnal animals like Rock Python (Ajagara), Palm Civet (Saliapatani) and Mongoose (Neula) is designed in a way that would give the visitors a night-time ambience even during the day hours and see nocturnal animals in the house.
On the other hand, the newly opened Orchidarium has as many as 101 varieties of orchids including 25 indigenous to Odisha and the rest are exotic but compatible to Odisha climate. While a few of them are already flowering, the rest will flower ahead of summer. Some of the common orchids at the Orchadium are Epiphytes (growing on trees with aerial roots) and a few ground orchids.
The orchidarium at the Sambalpur Zoo is probably the largest among the two other orchidariums in Odisha including one at Nandankanan which has 65 varieties and Similipal with 95 varieties. The new Rose Garden here also has around 200 colourful Rose plants.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Anshu Pragyan Das said, “The objective of a nocturnal house is to provide visitors with an experience of observing and learning about animals that are active during the night. This specialised exhibit will offer a unique opportunity to explore the behaviours, adaptations, and mysteries of nocturnal creatures, enhancing both education and conservation awareness.”
The Sambalpur Zoo spreads over 13-hectare area with 16 varieties of animals in 27 enclosures including leopard, sambar, chowsingha, spotted deer, wild boar, different kinds of birds and reptiles. More than 150 varieties of birds are seen naturally nesting inside the Zoo forest.
