The fifth cub of the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Delhi Zoo died on Monday, leaving only one remaining out of the litter of 6 born on August 4. The officials state that the remaining one cub is hospitalised and currently stable. The seven-year-old tigress Aditi gave birth to 6 cubs, recording the largest litter at the zoo in 20 years. The Delhi Zoo had recorded a similar case in 2005, when 6 cubs were born, of which only two survived.
Delhi Zoo director, Sanjeet Kumar, told national media that the cub was shifted to the Zoo Hospital between August 19 and 20. “The cub, which was hospitalised on August 15, is being handled here and is currently healthy,” said Kumar.
While the first cub of the litter was the weakest of all and died on August 8, according to officials, another cub in the line was not feeding on mother’s milk and died on August 10. Out of the four remaining, the first one was hospitalised on August 15, while three others developed an infection and were hospitalised on August 20. Death of another two cubs was reported on August 22.
“The carcasses of the cubs have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, for post-mortem,” said Director Kumar.
The Delhi Zoo has been housing tigers since the time of its inauguration on November 1, 1959. In 2010, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) conceptualised a planned conservation breeding program of 73 critically endangered wild animal species. This was part of the National Zoo Policy 1998, under which the Delhi Zoo has been chosen for tiger conservation breeding.