Tigress delivers 5 cubs in Maha Zoo on Christmas morning

Aurangabad, Dec 25: Christmas brought joy to a civic-run zoo in Aurangabad in Maharashtra after a tigress gave birth to five cubs early Friday morning, an official said.

Tigress 'Samruddhi' and the five cubs, her third litter so far, are doing fine and have been kept under observation for the next 36 hours, an Aurangabad Municipal Corporation official told PTI. "Samruddhi was born in Siddharth Zoo.

She has given birth to 12 cubs so far, with the five born in the morning being the largest litter, and all 12 have survived.

The father of these cubs was also born in this zoo eight years ago," Superintendent SS Naikwade said. The Christmas addition has taken the number of tigers in the zoo to 14 from nine, he added.