Tiger trouble at Bannerghatta zoo, Bangalore

Happy mother: Tanu with one of her cubs in her enclosure

Bannerghatta zoo officials are happy with their new members, three tigers cubs, but have to face the music for crossbreeding against regulations.

The successful crossbreeding of two tigers which led to birth of three cubs at the Bannerghatta National Park, four months ago, has got the zoo’s officials in trouble.

According to the central zoo authority regulations, crossing breeds is against preservation of rare species and is a violation. The officials now face disciplinary action. The officials had earlier crossed Tanu, a white tiger, with a Brandis, a Royal Bengal tiger, which resulted in the birth of two white tiger cubs and one Royal Bengal cub.

Justification

The park officials however are justifying their actions.

“Though it is prohibited, we went ahead since we needed to increase the number of tigers. White tigers are less in number”, said one of the officials. “It helps when we need to exchange animals in the future.

White tigers are always in demand,” he said.

The incident has left animal experts fuming too.

“Crossing rare species is wrong. It may result in the loss of natural breeds. The Royal Bengal tiger is a rare specimen. Parks are meant for preservation,” Sanjay Gubb, a wildlife expert said.

Another wildlife expert, Praveen Bharghav, added, “Cross breeding paves the way for extinction of natural species, and it needs a check. However, crossbreeding in the wild is important, but not in captivity.”

Happened before

This is the second time tigers of different breeds were crossed. The first time Sumanth, a white tiger brought from Kolkota, was crossed with another Royal Bengal tiger, in 2001 which resulted in the birth of Tanu.