Felix and Julia doing well, weigh 6-8 kg, says Pindi’s iconic park official
Zubair Qureshi
Felix and Julia, two newly-born Bengal tiger cubs, which is an endangered species, have recently arrived at the Jungle World in the Ayub National Park attracting families and children, particularly the children.
The addition of the two cubs has enriched the park which now has a total of five tigers—-Felix, Julia, their parents Rawal and Rawail, and a female tiger, Hazeil.
Besides, there is also a white lion pair, a Puma lion and a lioness.
Born one-and-a-half months ago (Dec 26), Felix and Julia are doing well, said the park officials and are solely on mother-feeding.
Their weight is around 6-8 kg and they have been administered first vaccine a day earlier while they will receive second dose on February 22, said the park’s vet Dr Basit Rasheed.
With their arrival the Ayub National Park has become the only facility in the country with such a large number of wild cat species, he said.
He said there were only 3,500 Bengal tigers in the world, and of that number five are at the Ayub National Park.
A separate area has been dedicated to keep the wild animals in the 50-acre park and this has been named Jungle World.
According to Director of the Jungle World, Lt Col (R) Mohsin Khan, the wild animals are provided an environment that is close to their natural habitat.
We are maintaining the temperature of their enclosure as well, said Col Mohsin. Dr Basit said after the birth of the cubs, they had increased the food quantity of the mother, Rawail from 8-kg to 12-kg to correspond with nutritious needs of the kids.
Meanwhile, we have put their father Rawal in a separate enclosure to minimize the risk element, he said.
The cubs are the 10th in the line of a tiger pair imported back in 2008, said Dr Basit. Being an off-day, one could see a large number of families, particularly children flocking to these wild animals, particularly cubs’ enclosure and taking pictures. According to the park officials, 2,500-3,000 visitors are expected to see Felix and Julia daily.
