Aurangabad, May 2 (ANI): The Tiger pair named 'Samrudhi and Siddharth' at the Siddharth Garden and Zoo of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in India's western Maharashtra province has given birth to three cubs recently, who made their first public appearance. The director at the zoo, B.S. Naikwade said the three cubs, two female and one male, were born eight weeks ago to tigress Samrudhi. The three cubs were kept in a safe place due to critical period at initial stages of their birth. The newly born cubs are the fourth generation of tigers in this zoo. Twelve years ago a pair named 'Tara and Jahangir' brought to Aurangabad district from a zoo in northern state Punjab gave birth to the pair of 'Dipti and Guddu' and the same pair had given birth to 'Samrudi and Siddharth'. Meanwhile, the zoo authorities have sent one pair of tigers each to a zoo in central city of Indore and Borivali Zoo in western Mumbai city. India holds over half of world's tiger population. According to a 2011 census report, tiger population was estimated to be around 1,700. But media reports say the Indian tiger faces threat of extinction due to various reasons including hunting, poaching and lack of genetic diversity.
