Bhubaneswar/Baranga, (Tulu Patra), Aug 29: Lioness Bijli today gave birth to five cubs at Nandankanan Zoological Park, located on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Bijli, who was transferred from Indore Zoo in 2020, has now delivered litters for the fourth time. The father of the cubs is lion Samrat, brought from Kanan Pendari Zoological Garden in Bilaspur.
Zoo officials reported that Bijli is caring for the cubs, and as a result, their sex has not yet been determined. The mother and her new cubs are being monitored through CCTV surveillance to ensure their well-being.
With the addition of these five cubs, the lion population at the zoo has increased to 26. Bijli’s first litter was born on July 21, 2021, during the second wave of COVID-19, but only one cub, Barsha, survived after being hand-reared by animal keeper Prasanta Gouda. Bijli’s second litter arrived on March 17, 2022, with one cub, Kamini, also hand-reared. Her third litter, born on November 22, 2022, included five cubs; two were sent to Alipore Zoo, and one died.
