Tiger cub draws visitors to Thiruvananthapuram zoo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A tiger cub born to Ponni, 10, and Kiran, 13, in the city zoo in November last has become the cynosure of all eyes. It was after over a decade that a tiger cub was born here.  Tiger keeper N. Ramachandran aka Raman, 40, had taken  the initiative to mate Ponni and  Kiran and he has similar plans for the  white tigers, Shravan, 3, and  Malar, 9.

T.V. Anil Kumar, zoo superintendent, told DC that the mother and the newborn have been put in the first enclosure so that the visitors can see them easily.  They  are currently being given  10 kilos  of beef. Senior zoo veterinarian Dr Jacob Alexander vaccinated the cub after separating Ponni for a few hours from it recently. Raman wants to call it  ‘Aathira, ’ but the zoo authorities want an international name, Malala, as a tribute to the youngest Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai. “The newborn is the star attraction at the zoo now,” said Raman.