Pune's favourite white tiger dies at zoo

A 14-year-old white tiger died at Pune's Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park on Friday from a prolonged illness. Visitors thronged the park on Saturday for a final glimpse of him before he was cremated.

Two years ago, in a joint internal mutual exchange initiative of the zoo authority, two white tigers, Kaif and Priyadarshini (14), were sent to the Pune zoo by the Aurangabad zoo authority in exchange for two jackals. Kaif, at 12, was a handsome tiger with a large, robust frame and a roar that he would show off to visitors.

According to the zoo authorities, feline experts and veterinary doctors made every effort to cure Kaif, who had been paralysed for the past four months.

Rajkumar Jadhav, zoo director (Pune division), said, "Ideally, a tiger's lifespan is around 18 years. Kaif was brought to our zoo at the age of 12. He had a very attractive personality and was a favourite with visitors. He suddenly developed a metabolic bone disease, which is common among tigers, that caused his bones to soften and he became paralysed in the back legs. His spine, too, became affected after that and he was bedridden."

Jadhav said, "We later shifted him to our room as he could not sleep and was crying out in pain. Initially, he had responded well to medication, but for the past month he refused to eat and had to be put on saline. He breathed his last around 5 pm on Friday."

"Priyadarshini became depressed after he fell ill and we are now in the process of finding another male white tiger," Jadhav said.

There are six tigers at the park, of which two were white tigers.