This is the first time a lioness has given birth to three more cubs, 75 hours after the first cub was born
Post Date – Sunday 16th July 23rd at 10:10pm
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department has formed a committee to study the case of the lioness ‘Sona’ who gave birth to five cubs at the Etawa Lion Safari.
This is the first time the lioness has given birth to three more cubs, 75 hours after the first cub was born. About 24 hours later, she again gave birth to a cub. Four of the cubs have died.
Chief Forest (Wildlife) Conservator Sudhir Kumar Sharma ordered the appointment of Shesh Narain Mishra, Chief Forest (Wildlife) Conservator for the Western Region, Deeksha Bhandari, Director of Etawah Lion Safari and Dr Yogesh Pratap Singh, Gorakhpur Zoo Veterinarian. Conservation Officer (Ecological Development) Neeraj Kumar chaired, studying the case.
Typically, a lioness gives birth to all her cubs within 24 to 30 hours. The committee will prepare its report after studying videos, photographs and other records of the lioness ‘Sona’ giving birth, and contacting and receiving input from other experts mainly from the Indian Wildlife Research Institute in Gujarat and Dehradun.
The committee has until the end of July to submit its report. Sharma said experts in Gujarat were also contacted as the lion came here from Gujarat. “The Gujarat Forest Department was also surprised by the gap in Sona deliveries. They were also asked to provide specialists for this,” he added.
On July 6, the Asian lioness “Sona” gave birth to a cub at the Breeding Center of the Etawa Lion Safari Park. Thirty-six hours later, the lioness gave birth to three more cubs. The next day, she gave birth to another cub.
Authorities reported that three cubs died on July 11 and a fourth cub died on July 13. The only surviving cub was kept in the safari’s newborn center because the lioness did not feed it. The cubs are bottle-fed according to international standards.
Sona’s first living cub weighed very little, safari officials said. The cub was supposed to weigh around 1kg but was actually only 800g. But now its health is improving. In a week, he gained 400 grams and currently weighs 1,200 grams.
