Sundari’s Tryst with Destiny; Surviving on imported diet in India

By Neeraj Bajpai

She is young and beautiful.She is trying to gain weight for last one month to win over enraged mother who had abandoned her and refused breastfeeding as she was unlucky underweight at time of birth.

But now,she is in company of a stuffed toy, purposefully gifted to ward of loneliness.  she plays with stuffed towys- a white tiger and a leopard. Her special diet is flown from America to Kanpur, infamous as the dust bowl of Uttar Pradesh.Within a span of a month, she has won over hearts of many in the city’s sprawling zoological garden with captivating charms of twinkling eyes ,baby whiskers and cushy paws.

Lured by her looks, wild life authorities fondly call her " Sundari". She was given birth on April 10 , this year by lioness Nandini  who had mated with fierce  Ajay,king of jungles from Raipur in sprawling green confines. Soon after birth in a zoo enclosure,Sundari was deserted by mother who  chose not to  rear the weak and diseased cub. Her  other sibling died after a day while another  was still born.The fourth cub,delivered by the lactating mother next day, was also still born.

 Envisioning bleak prospects of survival of the virtually orphaned cub, vets adopted her and started feeding manually six times a day. She was given baby care and fed with kids’ milk bottles.

( Dr RK Singh feeding the cub in Kanpur zoo)

  Her food was imported. Feeding on Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) and she gained weight which now touches mark of 4.25 kilograms. Steps s are afoot to serve her meat gravy soon.It contains protein, carbohydrates,vitamins etc.  

Normally, lion cubs weigh around 1200 gms at time of birth and if it ​ is less than that mother lioness abandon them rather carrying forward sickly off springs. At time of birth Sundari was only 840 gms .

   " An atmosphere of joy is palpable among vets Dr RK Singh,U.C. Srivastava ad Nasir  and others over their successful efforts to save an endangered animal at the cost of less than one thousand US dollars so far.

 Zoo Director Deepak Kumar is evincing personal interest to save  the endangered animal .Blood serum from her mother is also injected to strengthen immune system of the cub waging relentless battle of survival .

   A special enclosure is fabricated to keep growing up cub before she is transferred to her parents ‘commodious enclosure.

( Sketch by Neeraj Bajpai )