A pall of gloom descended upon Ranchi's Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park after four newborn tiger cubs perished on May 11th.
The unfortunate incident occurred due to accidental suffocation.
According to zoo veterinarian, Dr. O.P. Sahu, the tigress, Gauri, who gave birth to the cubs on May 10th, likely lacked prior experience in caring for newborns.
In a tragic turn of events, Gauri rolled over on the cubs, resulting in their suffocation.
Dr. Sahu expressed his deep regret, stating that Gauri's inexperience proved fatal.
"The mother did not have child-caring experience. Gauri could not understand that she turned over her newborn cubs. The cubs died of suffocation under the weight of the mother," he said.
"This matter is an example of the challenges associated with captive breeding programs and the importance of providing adequate support to first-time mothers," Sahu added.