Bhubaneswar: Asiatic lioness Shreya, housed in enclosure number 18 of Nandankanan Zoological Park, gave birth to a cub on Tuesday evening.
According to reports, this is her first pregnancy and she delivered only one cub. Being a first-time mother, Shreya neither cared for nor accepted the newborn. As a result, Nandankanan authorities separated the cub from its mother and shifted it to the infant animal care centre within the veterinary hospital premises. The cub is now being kept under controlled lighting and is being bottle-fed diluted milk formula by experienced animal keepers.
Shreya had become pregnant after mating with Asiatic lion Harsh. Interestingly, Harsh and Shreya are siblings. They were born on August 29, 2024, along with another cub named Dhruv, from the pairing of lion Samrat and lioness Bijli. Therefore, the latest cub is a product of inbreeding.
Zoo officials noted that survival of inbred lion cubs is generally rare. Last month, lioness Maya had given birth to two cubs from her first pregnancy after mating with Shivam. Maya and Shivam were themselves litter-mates born to lioness Reba, making their offspring also inbred. One of Maya’s cubs was stillborn, while the other (a male) died four days later while under veterinary care. Successful long-term survival of newborn lion cubs has therefore remained limited at Nandankanan in recent times.
