LAHORE: The Lahore Zoo Safari saw a number of births of various animals in the last few weeks, Safari Director Muhammad Shafqat told Dawn, adding that surplus lion cubs will soon be auctioned.

Mr Shafqat said that a hog deer gave birth to four fawns. Similarly, 13 Mouflon sheep babies were also born. A Chinkara fawn is also among the new additions, he added.

He further claimed that the safari had very conducive atmosphere for the animals and birds in captive breeding that is why there were a number of births. As far as African lions were concerned, the safari had 36 of them, and they were in surplus. They would soon hold an auction for the 10 surplus lion cubs. Sources in the zoo safari said that usually an African cub costs at least Rs500,000 in the market.

The safari had also successfully rehabilitated a pair of Sambar deer, which was caught near the Kashmir foothills and later kept at the safari.

To a question about the measures the safari was taking to overcome the loss of birds because of the Newcastle disease last month, the director said that the disease hit pheasants, peacocks and other birds however the safari was now making arrangements for bringing in birds from other Punjab wildlife zoos and parks.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2019