Guwahati: Two Royal Bengal tiger cubs were born at the Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden in Guwahati, raising the population of the animal there to nine, a forest department official said on Monday.
Tigress Kazi gave birth to the two cubs on February 3 and the mother and the babies are fine, DFO-Zoo Dr Ashwini Kumar said.
Heaters were placed outside their cage and adequate dry straw inside the enclosure to protect them from the cold weather, he said.
Kazi had earlier given birth to two cubs in August 2020 and they were named Sultan and Suresh.
Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya has been requested by the zoo authorities to name the newborn cubs.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Amit Sahai, said Kazi was being provided with a nutritious diet.
With the arrival of the new inmates, the zoo would be able to attract more visitors now, he said.
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The Bengal tiger, also known as the Royal Bengal Tiger or the Indian tiger, is the Mainland Asian Tiger, which is the subspecies with the largest population. It is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh and its scientific name is Panthera Tigris Tigris. The tiger first arrived in the Indian subcontinent about 12,000 years ago. The Royal Bengal Tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to be belonging to the world’s charismatic megafauna.
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