Kolkata, Dec 7
In a most unfortunate incident, three tiger cubs housed at Bengal Safari Park at Siliguri in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal were killed on Saturday after being bitten by their mother tigress, Rika.
Rika had given birth to three cubs last week. The officials of the Safari Park claimed that the accident happened while the mother tigress was sifting her cubs from one place to another. During this process, the three cubs were bitten by Rika, leading to punctures. Two of the three cubs died instantly, while the third one died after some time.
“Initial investigation has revealed that the mishap happened because of the mistake of the mother tigress. However, a thorough investigation into the matter will be conducted. It will also be seen whether there was any negligence on the part of the Safari Park authorities or not,” said a senior official of the state forest department.
This is not the first time that such unfortunate deaths of tiger cubs at Bengal Safari Park have occurred. In July last year, mother tigress Kika gave birth to two cubs. However, one of them died the very next day, while the other survived. Just a month later, in August 2023, the second cub also died reportedly due to acute malnutrition. The Safari Authorities faced significant criticism from wildlife enthusiasts who accused them of gross negligence.
The West Bengal Zoo Authority was also criticized for providing a face-saving report on the matter. Back then, the zoo authorities had held mother tigress Kika responsible for the deaths of the two cubs. According to the report, both cubs, since their birth on July 12 last year, had been suffering from genetically-borne ailments inherited from their mother Kika, the only albino tigress at Bengal Safari Park. However, the report also indicated that mother Kika was negligent in caring for her cubs, and that this negligence, combined with genetically-borne ailments, led to their deaths.