- While the tiger died of a rare blood protozoan disease, the bear died due to tuberculosis and age-related complications
- With the loss of the male tiger ‘Manish’, the NZP is now left with 24 tigers.
- The number of bears at NZP has drops to 14 which include five males and as many females
- post news network
Bhubaneswar: Even as the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) is witnessing death of animals at regular intervals, two back-to-back deaths at the zoo late Saturday and Sunday have raised a few eyebrows.
According to sources, Banki, a 17-year-old bear, died at the zoo late Saturday night while a 10-year-old healthy male tiger ‘Manish’ died at the zoo Sunday.
Manish, a normal coloured male tiger, born to Rohit and Shailaza inside the zoo, died of a rare disease while undergoing treatment for the last six months.
NZP Deputy Director Jayant Das said, “Manish was suffering from a rare Blood Protozoan disease caused by virus Cytauxzoon felis.
Manish, one of the attractions of the zoo, was under treatment for the last six months under the direct supervision of experts from the veterinary college of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT).
Das said the tiger died while preparing for blood transfusion, the last option to save the tiger, and added that all the final attempts to save the tiger failed.
He said the tiger died due to fatal and rare blood protozoan disease caused by a virus Cytauxzoon felis, a teak born with cat as a carrier host. It was the first case of tiger death in the zoo due to Blood Protozoan disease.
Mainish was a healthy tiger in the Zoo carrying the melanistic tiger gene. With the loss of the male tiger, the NZP is now left with 24 tigers, 11 of them male and the remaining female. The zoo has at least three melanistic tigers.
Likewise, the male bear died while undergoing treatment at the veterinary department of the zoo. “Due to tuberculosis, stunted growth and age-related complications, Banki was not doing well for the past six months. Subsequently, he had to be quarantined,” said the NZP deputy director.
It belonged to a species which is native to the Indian subcontinent, Das added.
With this, the number of bears at NZP has dropped to 14 which include five males and as many females while the gender of remaining four are yet to be established.
About the bear’s name, a zoo staffer said, “The male bear was only five-year-old when it was spotted at a roadside eatery in Banki area July 18, 2006.”
Last month, two young lions had died at the Lion Safari of Nandankanan. Visitors have raised concern over animal deaths occurring at the zoo at regular intervals.