Bhubaneswar: Within a little over a month of their birth, two tiger cubs have died of illness in Nandankanan Zoological Park near the city.
White tigress Rupa had given birth to a normal cub and two white cubs in the zoo on March 11. While a male cub died of illness on Tuesday, another cub succumbed on Thursday.
According zoo authorities, Rupa had abandoned her babies after birth. The zoo veterinarians and officials were hand-rearing all the three cubs as the tigress, who became mother for the first time at the age of 3.5 years, could not tend to the newborns. The veterinarians were feeding supplementary milk to the cubs and had kept Rupa under CCTV watch to monitor her health condition.
One of the cubs was suffering from fever and dullness for the last three days. While it was under treatment, the cub succumbed on Thursday, they said.
The zoo now has six white tigers, while the overall tiger population is 27 including 16 males and 10 females.
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