Royal Bengal tiger cubs at Katraj zoo, Pune to make public debut soon

The cubs will turn six-months-old on April 23. Each of the four cubs weigh between 25 and 30 kgs and are under observation

The four Royal Bengal tiger cubs born in captivity at Pune’s Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in October 2018 will soon make appearances for the public. The cubs Akash, Sarthak, Guru and Purnima, have been born to nine-year-old tigress Riddhi who was brought from the Aurangabad zoo in 2015, her mate, Bagiram was brought from the Pench forest.

Under the animal exchange programme two of the cubs will be exchanged with another zoo once they are mature. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

Raj Kumar Jadhav, director of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, said, “The cubs will turn six-months-old on April 23. Each of the four cubs weigh between 25 and 30 kgs and are under observation. They are healthy and playful. We are giving them a good diet of meat and food supplements twice a day.”

The Royal Bengal tiger cubs Akash, Sarthak, Guru and Purnima, have been born to nine-year-old tigress Riddhi in October 2018, and will soon make their first public appearance. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

“The cubs have become a main attraction among the zoo staff. They are growing rapidly and we will soon release them into the enclosure for public viewing,” said Jadhav, while refusing to share the exact date.

According to Jadhav, two of the cubs will be exchanged with another zoo once they are mature (the weaning period in the wild is usually to two years, but in captivity it can be under a year) under the animal exchange programme.

According to officials, the exhibit area has a moat barrier and it is sufficient to keep the public away from the animals. To beat the heat, the zoo staff has put coolers and foggers in the enclosure where the cubs are placed.