Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: The white tiger cubs of Nandankanan Zoo enjoyed their first birthday party on Tuesday as any kid would.

 
The three cubs, Samrat, Sneha and Megha put on a feisty show at the 31st enclosure of the zoo. The zoo authorities had put a happy birthday banner in front of the enclosure and had also decorated it with flowers and balloons.
 
The forest official cut the birthday cake on their behalf while the children along with foreign tourists sang the birthday song and enjoyed the celebration.
 
“I had never seen a white tiger before this and this is the first time in my life. It was interesting to see them as they are much bigger than the fox”, said a foreign tourist Kristine. 
 
The two brothers Samrat, Sneha and their sister Megha were born to white tigress Kusum a year back.
 
They believe that such celebration would help creating awareness among the people for saving the tiger population.
 
“The motto of today’s celebration is to highlight the importance of tigers and their conservation. It also extends the message for the people especially for the tourists to become aware of the steps taken for tiger conservation”, said the director of Nandankanan Zoo Sudarshan Panda.
 
Meanwhile, 13 employees of the zoo were awarded prizes on the occasion.

Notably, there are 25 tigers in the zoo which include 10 white tigers. As there is abysmal decrease in tiger population, the zoo officials arrange breeding once in every two years here.

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