Two female leopards at the mini zoo in Rasikbil, Cooch Behar, have bred seven cubs in the last month, officials of the state forest department said here on Saturday.

Bijan Kumar Nath, the additional divisional forest officer of Cooch Behar forest division, said that on April 2, Garima, a female leopard at the zoo, gave birth to three cubs, and on April 14, Rimjhim, another female leopard, bred four cubs.

“We had kept the leopards and the cubs under observation and thus shared the information late," explained Nath.

"All seven cubs and their mothers are in good health. It is a major development that captive breeding of leopards has been carried out successfully at the mini zoo,” Nath added.

With seven cubs, the leopard population in Rasibil is up to 12.

“We hope that ahead of Durga Puja, we can release the cubs into the enclosure for public viewing. The cubs will surely draw more visitors,” the forester added.

Located in Tufanganj subdivision of Cooch Behar district, the mini zoo in Rasikbil, spread over 25 hectares, is a popular attraction for tourists and residents.

Leopards apart, there are around 200 spotter deer, a fishing cat, an Indian rock python, an Indian peafowl and 11 gharials (fish-eating crocodiles).

Earlier, the mini zoo had earned appreciation by successfully carrying out captive breeding of gharials, a critically endangered species. "We could breed hatchlings in an artificially controlled environment and 37 such hatchlings were released into the Ganga," said an official.