Reported by: Mrinal Banik
Agartala: Three Royal Bengal tiger cubs have brought new life to the Sepahijala Zoological Park in Tripura, with the tiny newcomers born around August 30-31 and now being closely watched by zoo officials and experts.
The three cubs are healthy and doing well, according to Siddhartha Debbarma, director of the zoo. Their arrival has taken the total number of tigers at the zoological park to seven.
“All three are currently surviving and doing well. We are making every effort to observe and monitor them closely so that all of them survive,” Debbarma said.
Zoo officials said special care was being taken during the early days of the cubs’ lives, when neonatal deaths remain a concern in zoological parks.
The Forest Department has made arrangements to keep the newborns separately from their mother for much of the time. The cubs have been kept in the night shelter and are allowed to meet their mother for limited periods, officials said.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) RK Samal said the same tiger pair had given birth to three cubs last year, of which one died while the other two survived and grew up healthy. The two older cubs are now being kept in a separate enclosure.
“This year again, the pair has given birth to three tiger cubs, and they are quite healthy,” Samal said.
He said the decision to keep the newborns in the night shelter was aimed at protecting them from rain and ensuring their healthy growth.
The tiger pair had been brought to the zoo along with a pair of leopards and some other animals. After producing three cubs last year, the pair has now welcomed another three this year.
The latest births have therefore brought another hopeful chapter for the zoo, following the survival of two of the three cubs born to the same pair last year.
Samal also expressed hope that the arrival of the cubs would draw more visitors and tourists to the zoological park.