Barang: White tiger Samrat, one of the major draws of Nandankanan Zoological Park, is unwell. The health of this nine years and three months old rare male has been a cause of concern for the zoo authorities here as there are hardly any signs of progress in its condition even after three months of treatment.
The tiger continues to limp and its back stays bent. Experts from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) are likely to conduct an X-ray on the animal’s back in the zoo apart from a thorough check up of its health.
For its treatment, the zoo authorities Wednesday decided to take it from the enclosure number 33 to the veterinary clinic in the zoo. However, the efforts to put it into a cage turned futile.
It may be mentioned here that tiger Nishan and tigress Kusum gave birth to Samrat March 1, 2010 in the zoo. Samrat mated with tigress Renuka in 2016 and their first cub was a stillborn melanistic tiger. They mated again in 2018 and Renuka gave birth to two melanistic tiger cubs bringing glory to the zoo.
In what could be good news for the animal lovers, the blackbuck in enclosure number 66 in the zoo has given birth to a calf. With this birth Wednesday, the number of these animals has increased to 31. Out of this, there are 10 females, 10 males and the gender of remaining ones is yet to be ascertained.
Another humpbacked deer has also given birth to two calves, taking their number to 40. While 17 of them are male, six are female, the rest are yet to be classified as per their gender.
On the other hand, a female mandarin duck died in the enclosure number 77 of avian section Wednesday. Their number has come down to 14. On the same day, a sun conure was also reported dead.
PNN
