The post-mortem report revealed that the tiger died due to old age and multi-organ failure. (Representative)
Tirupati:
A 17-year-old Bengal tiger died at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in the temple town of Tirupati on Monday.
According to zoo officials, the tiger named 'Madhu' was brought to the zoo from Banergatta Biological Park in Bengaluru in 2018.
Zoo curator C. Selvam said the tiger was in their care for almost seven years. However, due to its age and health problems, it has not been in an exhibition space (for the public) for the past two years.
The official said the tiger has not consumed food and water for the past two months. A team of pathologists from Sri Venkateswara Veterinary College conducted an autopsy.
The post-mortem report revealed that the tiger died due to old age and multi-organ failure.
This is the third tiger death in the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park this year. Two of them were Royal Bengal Tigers.
In July, a five-year-old tigress, Julie, died of an illness. It was brought to SVZP from the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Park in Uttar Pradesh on February 13 this year under an animal exchange programme.
The big cat, which was in the exhibition area, suffered an injury to its left hind leg and the abdominal part of the abdomen while playing. Since then, it had stopped consuming food properly.
In March, a seven-year-old male Bengal tiger died after a long illness. The tiger was born blind in 2016 at the zoo's animal sanctuary. From 2017 onwards I started having epileptic seizures, a nerve disorder.
Spread over 5,532 hectares, Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park is one of the largest zoos in Asia.
According to the information on the zoo's website, it is home to 31 species of mammals, 46 species of birds and 7 species of reptiles.
In February this year, the zoo witnessed a tragedy. A man was mauled to death by lions when he jumped into their enclosure.
The victim was identified as Prahlad Gujjar (34), a native of Bansur municipality in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
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