Jaya visits zoo park: Christens tiger cubs
Chennai, Mar 15 : Taking time off from her busy schedule, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today visited the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP) at suburban Vandalur and named seven tiger cubs that included four white tiger cubs and three Royal Bengal cubs.
An official release here said, Ms Jayalaithaa named two white male cubs as Arjuna and Athreya and two tigress cubs as Cauvery and Chitra.
She also named three other tigress cubs as Nethra, Vidhya and Aarthi.
This was Ms Jayalalithaa's maiden visit to the Zoo and a first by a Chief Minister in about 25 years.
Zoo sources said the oldest tigress in the zoo--nine-year-old Anu--had given birth to four cubs on October 29 last year.
Another white tigress--three-year-old Namrata and daughter of Anu--was cross-bred with a Royal Bengal and it gave birth to three cubs in December.
The zoo at present has 21 tigers of which 13 were white tigers and serves as the leading breeding centre for white tigers and lion tail monkey to prevent them from becoming extinct.
The Zoo attracts more than 20 lakh visitors every year.
During her visit to the zoo, spread over 602 acres, Ms Jayalalithaa also spent time at a few enclosures housing a male tiger cub and a tigress named by her as 'Rama' and 'Chandra' in September last year.