2 tiger cubs die at Delhi zoo

New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Two tiger cubs have died over the past three days at the Delhi zoo, officials said on Monday.

The deaths came just a week after the zoo celebrated the birth of six Bengal tiger cubs — the largest litter in two decades.

The cubs were born to a seven-year-old tigress, Aditi, on August 4 between 9 am and 11 am.

This was her first litter since being brought from the Gorewada rescue centre in Nagpur.

Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar said the mother is nursing and feeding the remaining four cubs, who are under constant CCTV and manual monitoring to track feeding and activity.

One cub, the smallest in the litter, died inside the enclosure on the morning of August 8.

Another, which was weak and unable to feed on its mother's milk, was transferred to the zoo hospital on the night of August 9. It died the following night despite treatment.

"Supplements are being given to the mother to support milk production. The remaining cubs are being closely observed and are feeding well," Kumar said.

Before this birth, the zoo housed six white tigers and seven Royal Bengal tigers.

In 2023, tigress Siddhi — also from Gorewada — gave birth to five cubs, the first successful Royal Bengal tiger birth at the zoo in nearly 18 years. Only two of those cubs survived. The last litter of six was in 2005, when two survived.

The most recent white tiger birth was in 2022, when tigress Sita delivered three cubs, of which two survived. "In such large litters, a 100 per cent survival rate is extremely difficult," an official said.

The Delhi Zoo has housed tigers since its inauguration on November 1, 1959.

Under the Central Zoo Authority's conservation breeding programme for critically endangered wild species, launched in 2010 as part of the National Zoo Policy 1998, it has been identified as a centre for tiger conservation and breeding. PTI NSM VN VN