After January 16, 2005 Royal Bengal Tigress delivered cubs at National Zoological Park, New Delhi. The Royal Bengal Tigress (RBT) Siddhi delivered five cubs, two alive and three still-born on 04.05.2023. At present both cubs are attended by the mother and completely dependent on the mother for feed and are doing well. The mother tigress and her cubs are being kept under the surveillance of CCTV Cameras and regularly monitored by the zoo staff.
National Zoological Park, New Delhi has four adult Royal Bengal Tigers in its collection and the house names of these tigers are Karan, Siddhi, Aditi and Barkha. Tigress Siddhi and Aditi are of wild origin and were acquired from Gorewada, Nagpur.
National Zoological Park (Delhi Zoo) has housed tigers since the inauguration on Ist November, 1959. On 14th May 1969, the first pair of lions was also received from Junagadh Zoo in exchange for one pair of tiger cubs. From the time of acquisition of tiger Delhi Zoo is maintaining its population for conservation, education and display. Tigers have bred well in Delhi Zoo and also given in exchange too for many zoos of the country and abroad.
In 2010 Central Zoo Authority started a co-ordinated planned conservation breeding programme of critically endangered wild animal species as it is the main objective of National Zoo Policy 1998. For this co-ordinated planned conservation breeding programme 73 critically endangered wild animal species were selected and co-ordinating & participating zoos were identified for each species.
Under this national co-ordinated planned conservation breeding programme Delhi Zoo has been selected as a participating zoo for Tiger. To maintain genetic heterozygosity among the population of zoo tigers, animal exchange programmes have been undertaken. The current acquisition of Tigers is also a part of a national co-ordinated planned conservation breeding programme to reproduce the genetically healthy population of tigers.
