Bhubaneswar: The Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) in Bhubaneswar welcomed new guests on Saturday as white tigress ‘Rupa’ gave birth to four cubs
Zoo sources said four cubs were born to six-year-old ‘Rupa’ in the morning, while melanistic tiger ‘Krishna’ happens to be the male patent.
The cubs were born between 5.43 am and 9.31 am, they said, adding that Rupa is taking care of her cubs. The mother and cubs are under continuous CCTV surveillance to ensure their health and safety.
It is an early stage to determine the sex of the tiger cubs.
Notably, Rupa was born to Roshan and Bijaya at Nandankanan on September 22, 2018. After giving birth to 4 tiger cubs, she became a mother for the third time.
Mated with Rajesh, Rupa delivered three tiger cubs on March 11, 2022. While two cubs died within a month, the lone surviving white cub ‘Himanshi’ was sent to Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park on July 9, 2024 under an animal exchange programme. Rupa mated with Rajesh again and gave birth to two cubs on January 6, 2023.