17-Year-Old Tiger Siddharth Dies At Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Zoo

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A 17-year-old tiger at the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation’s Siddharth Garden Zoo died on Thursday night due to age-related health complications. The tiger had been suffering from constipation for the past eight days and was not responding to treatment.

The average lifespan of tigers in zoos is 16 to 18 years. As Siddharth was over 17 years old, his physical activity had slowed down in recent days, and his food intake had also decreased. He was subsequently placed under the care of the zoo's veterinarians.

However, as the tiger had completely stopped eating, every effort was made to save him through saline injections, antibiotics and tonic supplements. Despite the treatment, his condition continued to deteriorate.

Following the tiger's death, a post-mortem examination was conducted by experts from the District Veterinary Hospital at Khadkeshwar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, namely Dr RD Ingale, Dr Saheba Jamal, Dr MJ Talekar, Dr JS Bhagat and Dr Gajanan Chavan. An official inquest (panchnama) was subsequently conducted in the presence of Conservator of Forests Pramodchand Lakra, Deputy Conservator of Forests Suvarna Mane, Assistant Conservator of Forests Asha Chavan, Forester Avinash Rathod and Forest Guard DS Pawar. The tiger was cremated after the formalities.

Siddharth was born at the zoo to the pair Guddu and Deepti. Later, four cubs were born to Siddharth and Samruddhi. Samruddhi passed away some time ago, and Siddharth died on Thursday. The zoo currently houses four yellow tigers and four white tigers.