PATNA: Four cubs born to Royal Bengal tigress Sarita at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, commonly known as Patna zoo, will be named on the International Tiger Day on Friday. Chief minister Nitish Kumar will officially give names to the cubs, including three male and a female, on the occasion.
Animal lovers will get a rare treat as the two-month-old baby tigers will make their debut public appearance at the zoo on Friday. The zoo administration has decided to release the cubs with their mother in the enclosure for public display. Two calves of giraffe born in February and May will also be put on public display, a zoo official said on Thursday.
Zoo director Satyajeet Kumar said the CM would name the cubs. "The cubs will be a major attraction for the visitors on the International Tiger Day. Environment and forest minister Niraj Kumar Singh will launch a programme to mark public display of cubs and calves in their respective enclosures. Painting and drawing competitions will also be organised for schoolchildren on the zoo premises on the occasion," he added.
Kumar said people who have rescued tigers in the last one year would also be felicitated on the occasion. "A tiger cub was rescued in Bettiah after her mother was killed. The and the cub was brought to Patna zoo from where it was later sent to Rajgir Zoo Safari. A tiger was rescued in Motihari and released in wild," he added.
According to zoo officials, the cubs born to Sarita are healthy, active and still sticking quite close to their mother. "The zoo will display the cubs at the tiger enclosure with their mother," said an official.
Seven-year-old Sarita, who was paired with fellow yellow tiger Nakul, had delivered two white and two yellow cubs on May 25. Sarita and Nakul were brought from Chennai.
The captive breeding of tiger at Patna zoo got a boost with the arrival of quadruplets. The count of tigers at Patna zoo has increased to nine. In 2012, a tigress named Swarna had given birth to three cubs. However, all three cubs had died. The tigress delivered four cubs for the second time in 2017, but only one, Baghi, survived.