Lioness gives birth to three cubs at Nandankanan
Bhubaneswar: Lioness Rewa gave birth to three cubs in her third litter at Nandankanan Zoological Park on Saturday. While one cub was stillborn, Rewa rejected the two remaining cubs, zoo officials said.
According to zoo authorities, the 12-year-old lioness delivered the first cub at 9.33 am in the feeding chamber. “At 3.45 pm, we administered oxytocin to Rewa, leading to the birth of a second cub at 3.58 pm. The third cub was born at 5.56 pm. Both the surviving cubs were rejected by the mother, and they were shifted to the neonatal ICU for hand-rearing,” said zoo deputy director Sanath Kumar.
The cubs are currently under observation and care. Rewa was brought to Nandankanan from Kamala Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya, Indore, when she was seven years old in 2020. Earlier, she gave birth to two litters sired by Jeet, producing five cubs, four of which — Simba, Keshari, Shivam, and Maya — are alive and being hand-reared. Out of the current litter, one cub is male and the other is female. With these births, the total lion population at Nandankanan reached 24.
On March 27, the zoo welcomed three lion cubs and named them Amar, Akbar, and Anthony — all born to Rewa. Before Rewa’s first litter, her sister Bijli gave birth to five cubs, all of which survived. Bijli is the elder sister of Rewa, and both were born to the same mother in Indore before they were shifted to Nandankanan.
According to zoo authorities, the 12-year-old lioness delivered the first cub at 9.33 am in the feeding chamber. “At 3.45 pm, we administered oxytocin to Rewa, leading to the birth of a second cub at 3.58 pm. The third cub was born at 5.56 pm. Both the surviving cubs were rejected by the mother, and they were shifted to the neonatal ICU for hand-rearing,” said zoo deputy director Sanath Kumar.
The cubs are currently under observation and care. Rewa was brought to Nandankanan from Kamala Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya, Indore, when she was seven years old in 2020. Earlier, she gave birth to two litters sired by Jeet, producing five cubs, four of which — Simba, Keshari, Shivam, and Maya — are alive and being hand-reared. Out of the current litter, one cub is male and the other is female. With these births, the total lion population at Nandankanan reached 24.
On March 27, the zoo welcomed three lion cubs and named them Amar, Akbar, and Anthony — all born to Rewa. Before Rewa’s first litter, her sister Bijli gave birth to five cubs, all of which survived. Bijli is the elder sister of Rewa, and both were born to the same mother in Indore before they were shifted to Nandankanan.
