A tigress named Rika has given birth to three cubs at Bengal Safari Park near Siliguri in West Bengal. The cubs were born on August 19 and are healthy, according to the state forest ministry. The cubs are kept in a secluded place and visitors are not allowed in order to avoid any infection to the cubs. A a permanent doctor has also been appointed to keep a check on their health.
"On 19th August, a tigress gave birth to three cubs. I went to see her but couldn't see her, but I saw a video of them. The doctor said that visiting may cause them infection. The cubs are healthy... Recently, in Sada Bagh, two cubs died due to infection... To avoid this, we have appointed a permanent doctor here...," said West Bengal Forest Minister Jyotipriya Mallick to news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, the deaths of cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) has raised an alarm. Early in August, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav while speaking to news agency PTI, had attributed the deaths to infections caused by insects during the monsoon season.
"The government remains committed to the cheetah project and has sought advice from international experts," said Yadav
The Union Environment Ministry refuted any lapses and denied scientific evidence supporting the deaths due to infection from radio collars in a statement given to the Rajya Sabha last month, attributing the cheetah deaths to natural causes.
The Supreme Court expressed its concern about cheetah deaths in May and urged the Centre to consider expanding their habitat to other states. With the recent death of the female cheetah, a total of nine cheetahs have died in KNP in the last four months, including three cubs born in India.