Kolkata zoo begins captive breeding of tigers

KOLKATA: A pair of Royal Bengal tigers has been selected for captive breeding to increase the number of the big cats at the Zoological Gardens.

"To begin with, we have selected one pair. After the summer heat goes down we will gradually select more pairs," zoo director K L Ghosh told PTI.

An aluminum sheet which separated a male and a female tiger in a cage has been removed so that the two animals could acquaint themselves before mating, Ghosh said.

"Earlier male and the female tigers could not see each other. Now they can see and smell each other," he said.

It was planned that later the pairs would be kept in a single enclosure resembling their natural habitats so that the endangered species could breed.

"We are making the process very natural for tigers. We are not in a hurry to get cubs and can even wait till next year," Ghosh said.

At present, the zoo has five Bengal tigers — three males and two females. It also has three white tigers, including a male.

Zoo officials said that it was planned to mate a white tiger, which has a rare pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger, with an ordinary one.