Royal Bengal Tiger, Karan and White Tigress, Nirbhaya were ‘married’ at the Delhi Zoo in May 2018.
And according to reports, Nirbhaya gave birth to two brown-striped cubs yesterday on the occasion of Independence Day.
The zoo had conducted an inbreeding experiment almost after a gap of three decades when mating between the two species was facilitated in May this year. The experiment proved to be successful with the birth of the two cubs.
Renu Singh, Director of the Delhi Zoo, said:
This has brought added cheer to the zoo. The white tigress had been feeling uneasy for the last one week and finally delivered two cubs early Wednesday. We are expecting that there would be more cubs and at least one would be white because Nirbhaya is a white tigress.
The two tigers caught our attention with an altogether different kind of love story brewing between them.
The Delhi Zoo has already had seven White tigers, and five Royal Bengal tigers. Reportedly, the oldest tigress in Delhi Zoo, Priya, died on Tuesday. But soon the zoo authorities got a reason to rejoice with the birth of new ‘mixed’ cubs.
The new-born felines won’t be put to the public eye till they learn to walk. Visitors to the zoo will perhaps be able to see them only by October.