5th tiger cub dies at Delhi Zoo, one of six remains

On August 4, tigress Aditi, aged seven, delivered six cubs — the largest litter recorded at the zoo in 20 years

A Bengal tiger cub died of an infection at the Delhi Zoo on Monday, leaving only one remaining cub out of the litter of six born on August 4, officials said. The remaining one cub is hospitalised and currently stable.

One of the cubs sent to the hospital earlier. (HT Photo)

Delhi zoo director Sanjeet Kumar said the cub was shifted to the zoo hospital between August 19 and 20. “The cub which was hospitalised on August 15 is being hand-reared and currently healthy,” Kumar said.

On August 4, tigress Aditi, aged seven, delivered six cubs — the largest litter recorded at the zoo in 20 years. A similar case was reported in 2005 when six cubs were born, of which only two had survived.

The first cub of the litter, which officials said was the weakest of all, died on August 8. Another cub, who was not feeding on the mother’s milk, died on August 10. Out of the four remaining, the first one was hospitalised on August 15 but is the only one remaining now. Three other cubs developed an infection and were hospitalised on August 20. Two died on August 22.

“The carcasses of the cubs have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, for post-mortem,” Kumar informed.

The Delhi Zoo has been housing tigers since its inauguration on November 1, 1959. In 2010, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) started a planned conservation breeding programme of 73 critically endangered wild animal species, as part of the National Zoo Policy, 1998. Under it, the Delhi Zoo has been chosen for tiger conservation and breeding.