Bhubaneswar, Aug. 5: There were cheers all around at the Nandankanan Zoological Park today when the news broke that three tiger cubs have been born.
The cubs were born to Sneha (six-and-a-half-year-old white tigress) and Manish (nine-year-old Royal Bengal tiger) at an off-exhibit enclosure in the zoo. With today's delivery, the zoo's tiger population increased to 24.
Deputy director of the zoo Jayant Dash said the condition of the mother and the cubs were stable.
"The tigress gave birth to the first cub at 6.56am, while the other two cubs were born at 8.48am and 10.06am. Their condition is being monitored through closed-circuit television cameras," said Dash.
Incidentally, Sneha had given birth to four cubs, including two melanistic tigers, in July 2014. While one of the big cats has black stripes covering 50 per cent of its body, the other has prominent black stripes on its white coloured body. XThough zoo officials suspected one of the cubs born today to have melanistic characteristics, they said this could only be ascertained after a few weeks.
The zoo is well known for its white tigers. In a unique event in 1980, white tigers were born to normal coloured parents here. "Another white tigress is pregnant, and she may give birth next week," said a zoo official.
The zoo authorities, however, have decided to keep tabs on the cubs as the death of five newborns on November 18, 2011, had drawn flak from various quarters.
All the five cubs born to 12-year-old tigress Priyanka had died. The incident had forced the state government to conduct an inquiry into the deaths.
"The mother is taking proper care of the cubs. However, our vets have been asked to keep a close watch on the mother and the cubs," he said.