April 24: The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, Kaziranga, has shifted a tiger cub to the state zoo in the city for life-term care. With this, the tiger population in the zoo has reached eight.
The one-year-old cub, which was rescued by the centre from a pit at Lapankula in Dibrugarh district, was shifted to the State Zoo on Friday after the latter found that it could not be rehabilitated.
“We were told that the cub is not fit for rehabilitation in the wilds, as it has been hand reared,” said Narayan Mahanta, the DFO of state zoo.
Mahanta said it is now the duty of the zoo to look after the cub. “The doctors are looking after the cub. It is now being kept separately and will be sent to the enclosure once it is fully fit,” he said.
Mahanta said the five out of the eight tigers in the zoo are males. He said some of them would be shifted to other zoos under the animal exchange programme.
“Talks will be initiated soon under the Central Zoo Authority issues guidelines to send some tigers,” he said.
The DFO said the zoo has to spend about Rs 2 lakh a year to feed one tiger.