Imported milk powder for lion cubs at Rohtak zoo
Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, January 21
Three lion cubs, two female and one male, abandoned by their parents after birth at the Pipli zoo, are being reared at Rohtak zoo with utmost care and devotion. Geeta, Sudha and Arjun are doing well, say zoo officials. They have been there since more than a year.
Asiatic lions Geet and Sakshi were brought to Pipli from Junagarh. They gave birth to five cubs in June 2018 but only three survived. The couple abandoned the cubs. Fearing that they could come to harm, the cubs were transported to the Rohtak zoo.
“This is perhaps the first instance of its kind in the country in which abandoned cubs have been successfully hand-reared,” said Deepak Alwadhi, Divisional Wildlife Officer. “The cubs were initially fed on powdered milk procured from the US with composition similar to that of cat’s milk. After a few months, we started giving them minced chicken meat with milk.They are being given multi-vitamins and have been vaccinated”
The officer said the zoo staff, including a veterinary surgeon, worked in shifts to look after the cubs round the clock. “They will soon be made available for public viewing,” he added.
