Maya, one of the African hunting cheetahs in the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysore zoo), gave birth to five cubs recently.
The zoo had received four cheetahs, including two females, from Rhino Lion Nature Reserves, Muldersdrift, South Africa, through an animal exchange programme on March 26, 2011.
Maya, aged about six, was very weak and had recurrent lameness of left forelimb on arrival. Prolonged treatment and nutritional care brought it back to normal health. Its mating partner was Tejus, Executive Director of the zoo B.P. Ravi said in a statement here on Thursday.
CCTV
Maya and the five cubs, born on March 29, were being monitored through a CCTV camera, Mr. Ravi said. The gender of the cubs was yet to be ascertained.
The other female cheetah, Brinda, gave birth to three cubs last year. The three cubs were doing well, he said.
Mr. Ravi stated that the zoo, which houses 170 animal species, had a good track record of captive breeding. Nine-year-old hippopotamus, Anjali, gave birth to a healthy male calf on February 16, Mr. Ravi said.
A striped hyena, Rajini, aged about seven, delivered two cubs on March 6. Striped hyenas had been successfully bred three times in the zoo, Mr. Ravi said.
Giraffe calf
Seven-year-old giraffe, Khushi, gave birth to its second calf in the zoo on April 14. The calf has been named Ambedkar. Khushi was brought from the Lucknow zoo on October 7, 2007. Khushi had delivered its first calf on December 26, 2009 and it was named Lakshmi, Mr. Ravi added.
