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Bihar Forest and Environment Minister Neeraj Kumar Bablu on Friday named four newborn tiger cubs under the Chief Minister's direction and said he was hopeful of tiger numbers to grow.
The naming ceremony came on the occasion of International Tiger Day. As per the names decided for three male cubs and one female cub, Kumar disclosed the names as Keshari, Vikram, Magadh and Rani. "These four cubs have been named by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Keshari, Vikram, Magadha and Rani are the names of these four," Forest and Environment Minister Neeraj Kumar Bablu told ANI. Kumar also said that the officials are hopeful of the numbers to increase. "According to the 2018 census, the number of tigers is 31, the report of 2022 is yet to come, I hope that the number of tigers will be 45. It is rarely seen that if a tigress gives birth to four cubs, then all four survive. In most cases, two out of four newborns would definitely die, in that sense we are very lucky that all four survived," he added. A special team of doctors is constantly monitoring the wild animals and the zoo officials are taking special care of the diet. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday informed that India at present has 52 tiger reserves and that innovative measures are being undertaken to involve local communities in tiger protection. Taking to Twitter, Modi said, "On International Tiger Day, I laud all those who are actively working to protect the tiger. It would make you proud that India has 52 tiger reserves covering over 75,000 sq. km. Innovative measures are being undertaken to involve local communities in tiger protection." According to the Tiger census report of India released in 2020, India has around 70 per cent of the world's tiger population. The report also stated that India has 8 per cent of the world's biodiversity. International Tiger Day is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually on July 29. The day was decided in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia. The main purpose of this day is to increase public awareness and support for tiger conservation, as well as to advocate a global system for safeguarding tigers' natural habitats. (ANI)
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