Experts said it will help in captive breeding of big cats given that the young cubs carry a new gene pool, which will avoid inbreeding complications including premature deaths.
The Global Tiger Day, also called International Tiger Day celebrated on July 29, is celebrated to create awareness on tiger conservation by promoting a system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers, to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.
Four years after she was rescued from Bababundangiri hills in Muthodi Range, which is now part of buffer area of Bhadra tiger reserve, and moved to the Mysore facility, Anu has given birth to four cubs after the zoo's gambit of mating her with Brahma paid off. Anu was three months old when she was rescued. As she was of wild origin, the zoo management decided to pair her with wild cat Brahma, who has successfully mated with captive-born tigress Manya and sired six cubs in the zoo, zoo director B P Ravi said.
Anu gave birth to four cubs on July 18 of which two, both female, died within hours after their birth. As it was her first litter, Anu did not know how to clean the cubs and had licked the two cubs vigorously and had bitten them near the umbilical region leading to their death. "Anu is taking care of remaining two cubs well. Both the cubs are drinking milk at regular intervals and moving around in the den. As per he zoo records, this is the first successful pairing of wild tigers leading to breeding of wild cubs," he said.
Tiger ecologist Samba Kumar said Mysore zoo's success will help in captive breeding of tigers. "The new born cubs have a new gene pool and certainly help in captive breeding programmes of big tigers," he explained.
A vet, who has worked in tiger reserves, told TOI that new genetic variant will reduce inbreeding depression. "Due to inbreeding, the big cats face problems including decreased life expectancy. There is no free movement of tigers across tiger habitats too which has limited creation of newer gene pool in the wild. Mysore zoo's experiment could come in handy," he explained.
However, the tigers bred in zoo cannot be relocated to the wild. It is of little significance to tiger conservation in the wild, an expert said.
QUOTE
The cubs have a new gene pool and certainly help in captive breeding programmes of big tigers
Samba Kumar, ecologist
WILD CATS, NEW GENE
* Anu is from Bhadra and Brahma from Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary in Kodagu
* They were paired in April this year
* Anu gave birth to four cubs on July 18 of which two died
* The zoo now has two cubs with genetic variant, which will help in captive breeding
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