Orissa zoo hosts tiger cubs’ 1st birthday party

Nandankanan zoo authorities hosted the first birthday party of two tiger cubs on Tuesday. Schoolchildren were invited to be a part of the celebrations. The cubs — Payal and Khushi — were born to a nine-year-old tigress, Kushum, on October 20, 2008.

Zoo authorities had ordered a special cake, which was cut and distributed among the children.

They ensured all the arrangements would make the cubs, which were displayed to the public for the first time, feel special. Fresh water was pumped into a pond in which the cubs were to bathe. The cubs were even served chicken. “The cubs, however, will be kept with their mother for the next one-and-a-half years,” a zoo official said. 

“We organised this celebration to create awareness about the endangered species. Through this event, we managed to educate many about the highly-endangered animal,” Nandankanan Zoo director Sudarsan Panda said.