Get ready to spot new baby alligators on your next visit to the Lucknow zoo!

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden in Lucknow has welcomed 12 new baby alligators. With this, the total number of alligators here, has reached 19. Reportedly, this is for the first time in the history of Lucknow zoo that a mother alligator has given birth to 12 babies.

The mother alligator was brought to the city zoo from Kukrail Gharial Forest Reserve about 22 years ago. Other than the new borns, the 7 alligators include three males, three juveniles and one female.

Assistant director of the Zoo, Utkarsh Shukla said, "The total count of the infants will be confirmed only in the basking season when all the gharials come out from the water to be in the sun to maintain their body temperatures during winters. We assume some of the infants are still in the land while others are in the water."

The alligators bury their eggs on the land areas around the pond. For up to two-three months, the mother guards the nests. As soon as the baby alligators are ready to hatch, they start to chirp. In an attempt to come out of the egg, they use the eye tooth. This sharp protrusion is located on the alligator’s nose and is used by them to break through their shell when it’s time to hatch. The mother digs down the nest and carries her babies to the water in her mouth.