Sneha, a White tigress, gave birth to a black cub

A white tigress named Sneha on 27 July 2014 gave birth to a melanistic (dark skinned) cub along with other three white cubs in Nandankanan Biological Park in Odisha. This is the first incident in the country in which a white tigress has given birth to a black cub that too in captivity. Black tigers are usually seen in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.

Five-year-old Sneha gave birth to these cubs including one black two days before the International Tiger Day that is observed across the world on 29 July 2014. Eight-year-old Royal Bengal tiger Manish is the father of these cubs.

Tiger Population in the Nandankanan Biological Park
Total number of tigers in the park has gone up to 27 including the latest births. The zoo has eight white tigers of which five are females. Before the birth of these four cubs, the park witnessed birth of three tigers on 13 January 2012. These three tigers were born to tigress Sara and Rishi, a white tiger.

Nandankanan Biological Park
The Nandankanan Biological Park lies in the vicinity of Kanjia Lake and is adjacent to Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary. Birth of white tiger from normal coloured tigers has given a special place to Nandankanan over the world as one of the major host zoo for the white tigers. White tigers were born to normal coloured parents in 1980, a unique event in the world.

It is the first zoo in the country where endangered Gharials were born in captivity in 1980. Nandankanan has largest enclosures for housing Gharials and Hippoptamus.

 Apart from this, it is the only zoo of India that has certain animals with it namely
• Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas)
• Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximus)
• Open-billed Stork (Anastomus oscitans)