Zoo welcomes rare litter of six Bengal Tiger cubs

Six Bengal tiger cubs were born at the Delhi Zoo on Monday morning, the largest litter born at the zoo in two decades, officials said.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

The cubs were born to Aditi, a 7-year-old tigress, and white tiger Vijay, building on the zoo's ongoing breeding efforts. In 2023, another tigress, Siddhi, gave birth to five cubs, two of which survived.

The zoo said it will monitor the mother and cubs 24x7 through CCTV surveillance, adding that the first 48 hours are crucial for any litter.

"The cubs were born to tigress Aditi, who is aged between 7 and 8 years. She gave birth to six cubs between 9 and 11am and this is her first litter," said Delhi zoo director Sanjeet Kumar, adding that the tigress was acquired from the Gorewada rescue centre in Nagpur. Before the birth of the latest litter, the zoo had six white and seven Bengal tigers.