BHUBANESWAR: Nandankanan Zoological Park has achieved the distinction of being the first animal park in India to have successfully bred ratel in captivity. The honey badger, as the ratel is known popularly, is a Schedule I animal, as per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, but its breeding in captivity had not been possible yet. There are nine ratels in six zoos across India. It was not easy for Nandankanan Zoo to achieve the first. Having a pair did not lead to a successful breeding programme. Known to be extremely private, the female ratel gave birth to three cubs but none survived. “The mother would cuddle the young ones so tightly and sometimes bury them in the mud. We lost three cubs in the last one year and a half,” said a Zoo officer. However, on February 4, the female ratel gave birth to one more cub and the Zoo officials are hopeful that it will survive. The Zoo had to work hard on the breeding since October when they opened a special enclosure for the ratel pair. Since there is very little study available on breeding behaviour and biology of these mammals, it had to be a waiting game for the animal park management. The only option was to wait and give the female best condition. While the male was separated, the Zoo has engaged a man to keep tabs on the baby 24x7 in the special enclosure.“We provided enrichments for the female ratel and its cub so that it gets a normal atmosphere. Besides, nutrition supplements are regularly provided to them too,” said Dr Sudarshan Panda, Director, Nandankanan Zoo. Panda hopes the breeding and rearing programme, which is being documented, will provide other zoos valuable inputs about the species which is found across India barring Himalayas and the plains in the foothills.
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