BHUBANESWAR: Taking a cue from the 1977 Bollywood blockbuster, Amar Akbar Anthony, where three brothers get separated and are adopted and brought up by three different families, in Bhubaneswar’s Nandankanan zoological park, three Asiatic lion cubs, separated from their mother at birth, were given the same names.
The three male cubs, now named Amar, Akbar and Anthony, were sort of orphaned, after their mother Rewa, a seven-year old Asiatic lioness turned indifferent towards them soon after birth.”This was Rewa‘s second litter, and she didn’t show any interest in the care of cubs. We had to intervene for hand care,” said Susanta Nanda, principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife.
Wildlife experts say such behaviour is not uncommon in the animal kingdom. The cubs were born on Sunday, and they were given names on Tuesday after their sex was known. While Amar weighed 1.360kg at birth, Akbar was 1.380 kg and Anthony weighed around 1.520 kg at birth.
“The cubs were shifted to hand-rearing centre. There was contraction of the abdomen. They were administered oxytocin injection. They had been kept at neonatal ICU also for some time,” said Nanda.
The zoo authorities said the cubs were fed formula feeding, at least 12 times a day.
The zoo has started a round-the-clock monitoring of the cubs. In January 2023, Rewa had given birth to four cubs, but two survived- a male and a female. Then also, Rewa had not shown motherly affection towards the newborn.
It was the first litter of Rewa, which was brought from Indore zoo in 2019.
Before Rewa’s first litter, her sister Bijli had given birth to five cubs, all of which survived. Bijli is the elder sister of Rewa and both were born out of one mother in Indore before they were shifted to Nandankanan.
With addition of three cubs, the zoo now has 24 lions. Among these are 13 Asiatic lions, 11 hybrid lions, including three newborn cubs.
The three male cubs, now named Amar, Akbar and Anthony, were sort of orphaned, after their mother Rewa, a seven-year old Asiatic lioness turned indifferent towards them soon after birth.”This was Rewa‘s second litter, and she didn’t show any interest in the care of cubs. We had to intervene for hand care,” said Susanta Nanda, principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife.
Wildlife experts say such behaviour is not uncommon in the animal kingdom. The cubs were born on Sunday, and they were given names on Tuesday after their sex was known. While Amar weighed 1.360kg at birth, Akbar was 1.380 kg and Anthony weighed around 1.520 kg at birth.
“The cubs were shifted to hand-rearing centre. There was contraction of the abdomen. They were administered oxytocin injection. They had been kept at neonatal ICU also for some time,” said Nanda.
The zoo authorities said the cubs were fed formula feeding, at least 12 times a day.
The zoo has started a round-the-clock monitoring of the cubs. In January 2023, Rewa had given birth to four cubs, but two survived- a male and a female. Then also, Rewa had not shown motherly affection towards the newborn.
It was the first litter of Rewa, which was brought from Indore zoo in 2019.
Before Rewa’s first litter, her sister Bijli had given birth to five cubs, all of which survived. Bijli is the elder sister of Rewa and both were born out of one mother in Indore before they were shifted to Nandankanan.
With addition of three cubs, the zoo now has 24 lions. Among these are 13 Asiatic lions, 11 hybrid lions, including three newborn cubs.