4 tiger cubs die in Vandalur zoo

According to them, the four cubs were born to tigress Uthra and Vijay on November 5, after which Uthra kept holding them in its mouth to protect them. However, a cub was deeply injured and suffered cuts and died last Monday morning, while the remaining three cubs died the same evening.

Due to Uthra’s violent behavior after giving birth to the cubs, even her mate Vijay could not get near her, officials said.

When contacted, Assistant Director of the zoo Shanmugam confirmed the death of the cubs.

“Both Uthra and Vijay are Bengal tigers and they were rescued from Sathyamangalam Reserve Forest. We have sent those cubs for autopsy report, after which we will come to know the exact details. However, we suspect that severe injuries and bleeding might have led to the deaths of the cubs,” he said and added that they have relocated Uthra in the same zoo.

The Assistant Director also assured that they would take appropriate measures to prevent such incidents in the coming days.

The zoo has a total number of 26 tigers.