BHUBANESWAR:The Nandankanan Zoological Park in the City once again hit the headlines for wrong reasons after the death of another big cat on Sunday.
Four days after an African lion died in Nandankanan due to hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE), a 10-year-old old tiger breathed his last in the zoo. Nandankanan authorities said the animal was undergoing treatment at the zoo hospital under the supervision of experts from College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, OUAT since the last six months.
Zoo officials informed that the animal was suffering from a fatal and rare blood protozoan disease which is caused by protozoal organism Cytauxzoonosis felis and transmitted to domestic cats by tick bites. In India, the rise in incidence of the disease has been associated with monsoon months when fly breeding is at its peak and coincides with increase in tick activity.
“The animal died at 4.30 pm when the blood transfusion procedure was about to be initiated,” said Deputy Director of Nandankanan Zoological Park Jayant Kumar Das. Manish was born in the zoo to Rohit and Shailaza. With the latest death, Nandankanan now has 11 tigers and 13 tigresses.
On Wednesday last week, an eight-year-old African lion, gifted by Tel Aviv Zoo of Israel, died in Nandankanan. The team of veterinarians which conducted postmortem declared that the feline died of HGE. HGE is characterised by sudden vomiting and bloody diarrhoea.
The Tel Aviv Zoo in Israel had gifted two pairs each of African lions and zebras to Nandankanan in 2015. Two of these lions and all the four zebras have perished in the zoo. Presently, the Nandankanan Zoological Park has no more zebra to exhibit.
The Nandankanan officials have failed to ascertain the exact reason behind the animals’ inability to survive in the City zoo.