White tiger dies of cancer Activists rue lack of expert doctors LELIN KUMAR MALLICK

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White tiger dies of cancer Activists rue lack of expert doctors

LELIN KUMAR MALLICK

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 23: The death of a 14-year-old white tiger at the Nandankanan Zoological Park has invited criticism from the city's animal lovers. This is the third such instance of tiger death at the zoo in the last three months. Authorities at Nandankanan said Jagat was found dead in his enclosure early this morning. Jagat had been afflicted by a tumour in his neck for the past one year. Later, a biopsy confirmed that the tumour was malignant, which is actually a kind of cancer. For the last 20 days, the animal was being treated at an isolated ward at Nandankanan zoo's veterinary hospital. A post-mortem was carried out in the afternoon revealed that the death occurred because of the cancer. "It is a severe kind of cancer found in animals," said Suren Panda of the College of Veterinary Sciences, under the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, that conducted the post-mortem. The death has drawn criticism from several animal lovers as seven tigers, including five cubs, have died in the zoo in the last three months. "Authorities of the Nandankanan Zoological Park have been carrying out captive breeding of white tigers since 1980. But there is no specialist veterinarian at the zoo to take care of the big cats. A vet, who is in charge of all animals, is not aware of the complications that arise in case of the big cats, as they have no such experience. It's time the zoo authorities woke up from their slumber and stepped up the their strategy to save the tigers. They should also come up with an ICU for better treatment of animals," said secretary of People for Animals (Odisha) J.B. Dash. The zoo authorities, however, denied charges of any negligence. "This is a natural death. No one can do anything about it. We have a very good technical team to look after the health of the animals," said Sudarshan Panda, director of the zoo. He also said that most of the deaths were caused by old-age related problems. Earlier, the death of five newborn tiger cubs on November 18 had triggered resentment among animal lovers. The state's chief conservator of forests (wildlife) had then ordered an enquiry into the death of the cubs. With the death of Jagat, the total population of tigers has gone down to 23, excluding the three cubs that were born on January 13 this year. White tigers were first born to normal coloured parents at Nandankanan in 1980. Since then, they have remained the main attractions of the zoo. The death has reduced the number of white tigers to nine. The zoo has been in the headlines in the recent past for all the wrong reasons. On January 10, the zoo was shut down the zoo following the escape of a lioness from its premises. Do you think the zoo needs to have one specialist doctor for the big cats? Tell ttorissa@abp.in