Three tiger cubs make public debut at zoo in Aurangabad

A pair of tigers named Samrudhi and Siddharth gave birth to three tiger cubs at the Siddharth Garden and Zoo in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

The cubs made their first public appearance on Wednesday.

The director at the zoo, B.S. Naikwade said the cubs, two female and one male, were born eight weeks ago to Samrudhi.

They have been kept in a safe place due to critical period at initial stages of their birth.

"It gives us immense pleasure that we are having three tiger cubs. After eight weeks cubs are out of critical period and now we opened the cubs for viewers," he said.

The cubs are the fourth generation of tigers in this zoo.

Twelve years ago a pair named 'Tara and Jahangir' brought to Aurangabad district from a zoo in northern state Punjab gave birth to the pair of 'Dipti and Guddu' and the same pair had given birth to 'Samrudi and Siddharth'.

Meanwhile, the zoo authorities have sent one pair of tigers each to a zoo in central city of Indore and Borivali Zoo in Mumbai.

India holds over half of world's tiger population. According to a 2011 census report, tiger population was estimated to be around 1,700.

But media reports say the Indian tiger faces threat of extinction due to various reasons including hunting, poaching and lack of genetic diversity.