On the occasion of its 62nd Foundation Day, Nandankanan Zoo in Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar, witnessed the debut appearance of six tiger cubs.

Three of these cubs were born to Bijaya, the white tigress on March 28 this year while the other three were born to tigress Megha on April 14.

On the occasion of celebrating the Foundation Day, the six cubs were named through a draw.

The three born to Bijaya have been Bansi, Rakesh and Rocky, while the ones given birth by Megha have been named as Abhay, Bibek and Sohini.

Besides this, the zoo authorities also released a radio transmitter tagged pangolin into the wild. The aim is to study the animal’s behaviour and survival factors.

Sharing details about the tagged pangolin, the Zoo’s Deputy Director Sanjit Kumar said that tagging of radio-transmitter on the scaly anteater has been done with the aim of connecting the link between the captive and the wild Indian pangolin. It will enable them to get information on their ecology, dispersal pattern, home range and survival post-rehabilitation.

It was also announced by the zoo authorities that Nandankanan and the botanical garden will remain closed from December 30 to January 3 as a precautionary measure against the new Covid-19 variant Omicron.