THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A male northern plains gray langur, aged 4.5-years, has lost its life as a result of injuries suffered during in-fighting with a male companion at Thiruvananthapuram Zoo.
The langur, along with three other monkeys, had been brought from Rohtak Zoo in Haryana in September as part of an exchange for two hyenas.
The severely injured langur received treatment at the zoo’s veterinary hospital for a total of 12 days. The in-fighting, believed to be related to breeding issues, involved two males and a female. Zoo veterinaru surgeon Dr K R Nikesh Kiran said that the injuries were extensive, affecting the neck, chest, and hand.
“Since the primate was in pain, it started self-mutilating. So, we enlisted the service of a keeper round the clock in two shifts to distract the animal from self-harming. Despite showing improvement due to anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics, the gray langur succumbed to the injuries late on Friday,” said Dr Nikesh.
Postmortem results indicated that the cause of death was septicemia and kidney failure. The gray langur population at the zoo has now decreased to five, including three females. In a separate incident in July, a female gray langur from Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, Tirupati, had escaped its enclosure, causing challenges for zoo authorities for 25 days.