Manvir Saini, TNN | Jul 22, 2014, 07.18AM IST
CHANDIGARH: A six-year-old Asiatic lioness has delivered four cubs at
the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, popularly known as Chhatbir,
giving the authorities something to cheer or rather roar about after 15
years.
Abhay, a lion brought from a zoo in New Delhi on
"breeding loan'' basis, has fathered the cubs. Heli, the lioness, and
Abhay were introduced to each other on Valentine's Day this year.
Punjab chief wildlife warden Dhirendera Singh said the cubs were born
on June 28 and have been kept with the mother. "Since there is zero
human intervention in the enclosure, we do not even know how many of
them are males," he added. Even as the cubs were active and healthy, the
zoo has decided to keep them under observation of CCTV cameras and
provide special care for three months. "They will remain with their
mother for six months. This is the beginning of another golden era for
the zoo. We are hopeful to see the lion safari regain its glory," he
added. The zoo has three Asiatic lions, with 24-year-old Rocky the
oldest in the safari, once having a pride of 14 lions. It was the main
attraction since the zoo came into existence on April 13, 1977.
However, the breeding was not an easy job. Brought from Rajkot in 2012,
Heli had suffered a serious illness and was hospitalized. Though
veterinary doctors at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Agriculture Science
University, Ludhiana, cautioned against breeding, a team of vets headed
by Dr M P Singh carried out the programme. "We still recall as to how we
used to put her on glucose drip and monitored the functioning of her
organs. After she gained weight in February, we prepared the course of
action for the breeding programme,'' Dr M P Singh said. Even now her
health was being monitored.
The zoo had landed in controversy
owing to experiments of inbreeding and cross-breeding of lionesses with
African lions in the early 80s. As a result, the population touched 90
plus in late 90s but the big cats caught diseases that led to sudden
deaths from 1999 to 2005. In1999, following the directions of the
Central Zoo Authority of India, the zoo stopped the breeding programme.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/14-lion-cubs-born-at-Chhatbir-after-15-years/articleshow/38838033.cms
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