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Jharkhand
Zoo authorities begin inquiry
into six big cat deaths
Ranchi (Jharkhand): Jharkhand Zoo authorities have begun investigations into the death of six big cats. All the animals died over the past month. Officials said that they are investigating whether any foul play was involved in the deaths. Five tigers and a leopard died in the Birsa Zoological Park, leading to the shifting of the remaining big cats to the Vishakhapatnam Zoo. "We are investigating the death of five tigers in this way. We will look into the case as to how they were killed in the first stage, if there is a conspiracy involved and if the virus was intentionally spread which claimed their lives. There were no incinerators so the tigers have been buried deep. There is a possibility that they will be taken out and their body parts sold in international market. So we are looking into all this," Deepak Singh, the Zoo Director, said.
The
cats are said to have died from Babesiosis, an infectious disease caused
by a parasitic single-celled micro-organism. Earlier, officials had said
that the deaths were caused by a disease transmitted by ticks. In 2000,
Babesiosis had claimed the lives of 10 Royal Bengal tigers in Orissa's
state-run zoo. Over the past year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed
alarm over the dramatic fall in the country's wild tiger population due
to rampant poaching and human encroachment on leading sanctuaries. According
to official estimates, there are now barely 3,600 tigers in India, and
some wildlife experts say the true figure could be less than 2,000.
-Aug 30, 2006
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