Bhubaneswar: Nandankanan Zoological Park has achieved a significant milestone in tiger conservation with the confirmed pregnancy of Mousumi, the white tigress who was born on August 5, 2016.

Mousumi, the offspring of white tigress Sneha and a normally coloured tiger Manis, conceived after mating with tiger Rajesh between April 27 and April 29, 2024. The pregnancy was confirmed by the zoo’s veterinarians through an ultrasonography on July 1, 2024.

Mousumi has previously mated four times with tiger Sahil between July 2021 and July 2023 and twice with tiger Rajesh in January and April 2024, but this is her first confirmed pregnancy.

“This event marks a hopeful chapter in the zoo’s ongoing efforts to bolster tiger populations through carefully managed breeding programmes. As Mousumi is white in colour, it is very likely that the to-be-born cub will also be a white one,” a spokesperson of Nandankanan said.

Worth mentioning that Nandankanan is set to receive a melanistic tigress and a normal coloured tigress from Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park of Ranchi, in a strategic animal exchange programme planned for the second week of July 2024.

This exchange aims to enhance genetic diversity and strengthen conservation initiatives.