Nandankanan Zoo is celebrating as lioness Bijli, who was brought from Indore Zoo in 2020, has given birth to five healthy cubs on 29th August. At 9 years old, this is Bijli’s fourth litter, with the cubs fathered by Lion Samrat. Both Bijli and her new cubs are reported to be doing well.
The zoo staff are thrilled with this new addition to their lion family and are monitoring the mother and cubs closely.
1989 batch senior IFS officer Susanta Nanda, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Wildlife, shares this news on social media platform ‘X’.
He wrote, “Happy to inform that! Lioness Bijli of Nandankanan zoo has given birth to 5 cubs today. Bijli was brought from Indore Zoo in 2020, and presently is 9 years old. It is the fourth litter from the lioness Bijli, sired by Lion Samrat. As of now, mother & cubs are doing fine😌”
Happy to inform that
— Susanta Nanda (@susantananda3) August 29, 2024
Lioness Bijli of Nandankanan zoo has given birth to 5 cubs today.
Bijli was brought from Indore Zoo in 2020, and presently is 9 years old.
It is the fourth litter from the lioness Bijli, sired by Lion Samrat.
As of now, mother & cubs are doing fine😌 pic.twitter.com/ycOGIjYGZx
He said that both Bijli and her cubs are doing well.
Bijli’s first litter, born in 2021, consisted of three cubs, but only one, named Barsha, survived after being hand-reared at the zoo. Her second litter arrived in March 2022, producing Kamini, who was also hand-reared. In November 2022, Bijli gave birth to five cubs; one did not survive, but the remaining four were successfully reared by Bijli herself, with two eventually being transferred to Alipore Zoo in August last year.
Currently, Bijli and her new cubs are under continuous CCTV surveillance. The zoo authorities have not yet determined the sex of the new cubs, as Bijli is actively caring for them and has not been separated from them.
