The Zoo is 2 km from the Barang Railway Station (East Coast-Railway), 17 Km from Cuttack and about 10kms from the northern fringe of the State capital.

The zoo houses several species of regional significance that include three species of Crocodiles, Pangolin, Ratel, Sambar, Mouse deer, Black buck, Chousingha, Panther, Small Indian civet, Brahminy Kite, Storks, Hill mynah which deserve mention for their captive breeding. Other species are Rhino, Manipuri deer, Barasingha, Wild ass, Tiger, Himalayan black bear, Nilgai, Lion tailed macaque, and Nilgir langur. Exotic species such as Chimpanzee, Orangutan, Hippo, and Zebra provide additional attraction for the visitors.

This zoo has a lion safari, white tigers, and elephant rides. There is an exotic Botanical Garden. Open daily except Mon 7 am to 6 pm in the summer and 8 am to 5 pm in the winter. It is 20km from Bhubaneswar, from where there are hourly buses (1 hr) from the Old bus stand to the zoo. The OTDC bus tours from Puri and Bhubaneswar come here. It takes 1½ hr to ride here by bicycle from Bhubaneswar.

The Zoo has 151  species in its collection, of which 44 require special conservation effort for being included in Scheduled-I & II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Important endangered species housed in Nandankanan include: Gharial, Estuarine Crocodile, Mugger crocodile, Peafowl, White-necked stork, Tiger, Leopard, Himalayan Black bear, Sloth bear, Manipuri deer, Barasingha, Nilgir langur, Lion-tailed macaque, Indian pangolin, Blackbuck ,etc.

At present, the Zoo has 93 animal enclosures. 58 are in the shape of cages and 35 have peripheral moat. The 151 species in the zoo comprise of 75 species of birds, 49 species of mammals, and 27 species of reptiles. There are also 36 species of fishes as exhibits. The Zoo has consistently maintained its status as a large zoo.

Nandankanan acquired its first tiger in 1964 and the first open air tiger-enclosure now known as the 'Kanan' enclosure was constructed in 1967 when Kanan, a tigress from the adjoining Chandaka forests (now a sanctuary), jumped into one of the tiger enclosures and remained in captivity. The Zoo has so far reared 327 tigers that has passed through many planned breedings. Contrary to the concept that every white tiger has a Rewa-lineage, Nandankanan has white tigers which are not linked to Rewa. The first white tigers of Nandankanan were chance-born to normal-coloured tigers in the year 1980, and currently the zoo has a collection of 10 white tigers.

For achieving self-sufficiency in feed supply to the wild herbivores in the Zoo, a fodder farm extending over 33 Ac. was established in 1997. An area of 8.5 Ac. has been planted with Paragrass and 3.5 Ac. is planted with Napier-Bajra-21 as cultivated crop while seasonal crops like Stylo, Maize and Cow pea is cultivated over 3 Ac. of area. The balance area is managed as natural grassland from which common grass is harvested. The fodder farm yields about 15 Qntl. grass fodder daily. The use of pesticide or chemical fertilizer has not been allowed in the fodder farm, but application of bio-ferterliser and Azobacter inoculation are carried out periodically to maintain productivity.

About 14 lakh visitors come to the zoo in a year.

The Zoo has more than 200 research papers published on different aspects of husbandry and management of Zoo animals in different reputed national and international journals, magazine, etc. Research work taken in this Zoo has led to one Ph.D. and one M.Phil degree in the past.

Visitor appreciation facilities like Toy Train, Boating, Children's Park, Lion Safari, White Tiger Safari, Aquarium, Rope way, etc. have been kept well maintained and functional throughout the year. With lakhs of visitors to the Zoo, it has remained a potential center for conservation education. New gadgets like swings, slides, merry-go-round, rocking chair with animated moulds have been installed in the Children's Park.

VISITOR FLOW TO NANDANKANAN AND REVENUE EARNED DURING LAST FOUR YEARS