Two bear cubs have been born at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Sreepur, Gazipur, the third time bears have given birth at the park.

The cubs were born on 5 January, but the park authorities announced the news to the media on the afternoon of Wednesday, 20 January. With the two newborns, the park now has 15 bears.

The park's officer-in-charge, Assistant Conservator of Forests Tabibur Rahman, said the female bear had been moved from the bear enclosure to a special enclosure and kept under observation once she became pregnant. She gave birth to the two cubs there on 5 January.

Park staff are still feeding the mother in that enclosure. Bears usually give birth to between one and three cubs at a time.

He said the safari park was playing a part in conserving this animal, which is at risk of extinction, and that a third birth in the bear group in captivity opened up new possibilities.

Bears give birth after an eight-month pregnancy, he said. They live for 20 to 25 years, though in captivity they can live for 30 to 35 years.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.