Every year the world celebrates International Tiger Day. This year the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) marked the celebration by announcing that it has named a six-month-old tiger cub in the name of India’s sprint queen, Hima Das who won five gold medals in July this year.
Endeavor To Raise Importance Of Tiger Conservation
The Zoo authorities have said that they have named the tigress cub as Hima to attract more tourists at the park and also to raise awareness about the importance of tiger conservation among the masses. The executive director at BBP, Vanashree Vipin Singh said, “A model on the impact of tiger extinction will be on display at the entrance of the zoo. Visitors will also have a chance to make their own tiger animals as part of the celebration.”
Incidentally, the cub made its first public appearance on July 28 in the BBP safari zone as a part of the International Tiger Day celebration. She made an appearance along with three other males and five females. The BBP organized a series of programs to create awareness about endangered species.
According to census report 2014, Karnataka has the highest tiger population of 406 in India.
Animals Named After Celebrities Previously
It is not the first time that the animals are being named on the names of famous celebrities. Earlier this year two sloth bears were named after the former captain of the Indian cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Women’s cricket team captain, Mithali Raj in BBP.
Even earlier many celebrities and influential personalities have christened and adopted animals in BBP. These include Infosys chairperson Sudha Murty and Managing Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise director Ashok Kheny.
A model that depicted the impact of tiger extinction was displayed at the entrance of the zoo. It will give the visitors a chance to learn more about tigers and the methods of conservation adopted by the government. The principal chief conservator of forests and principal secretary of the finance department, Ravindran DS released a group of eight tigers for public viewing into the safari area.
It included a mother and her seven cubs from two litters. In the white tiger safari, four tigers are now available for viewing.
(Tiger Cub image used for representation purpose only)
