Out of 10 tigers/tigresses in Birsa Zoo Ranchi seven of them wear names as holy as one can imagine like Shiva (tiger) Jawa (tiger) Malick (tiger) Anushka (tigress) Gauri (tigress) Laxmi (tigress) and Saraswati (tigress) besides 3 un christened cubs of Anushka, which she delivered in lockdown 2.0 at night on this April 18 here in this zoo.
About these three cubs remaining un christened so far zoo director D Venkateswarlu said there can be no naming unless the gender of the cubs is first determined and for determination of the gender it is most incumbent to find out reproductive organs on them like the descending of the testicles etc.
Venkateswarlu said gender determination comes handy when the cubs get their first shot of vaccination, which is mandatory and highly essential for their lives.
Many people said that these cubs of Jharkhand be named after the names of hockey players.
Sources said since the gender of the cubs is yet to be decided giving names is impossible and further girl hockey players outnumber the male ones but here no one can vouch how many of these 3 cubs are females or none of them even too.
A cub will be either a male or female but no transgender said DS Srivastava a noted environmentalist.
A good number of people suggested these cubs to be named after this great covid 19 pandemic like fighter 1, fighter 2 and fighter 3 irrespective of their sex.
Dr Ajay Kumar, Veterinary doctor said cubs of tigers get their first shot of vaccination on the 9th week of their birth and by this account the vaccination of these cubs will be done this first week of July.
Ajay Kumar added the vaccination is against deadly viral infection which a cub is more susceptible too. There comes another shot of vaccination after one month of the first shot he added.
From birth to death of a cub or a tiger/tigress there goes the booster dose which comes once in a year after the two mandatory shots
of injections. Kumar said Anushka was given her booster dose in May.
He said vaccinating a cub is difficult just because the mother tigress lurks around but in this zoo the keeper of cubs has developed a family relation with Anushka’s family.
Asked if cubs react to vaccination by crying, yowling or showing panic signs like human babies who get their first shot Kumar said our keeper cuddles them and during their cuddling shot of vaccination is given which is a minor prick.