The only surviving male Royal Bengal tiger in the National Zoological Park breathed his last on Monday. The tiger was suffering from multiple organ failure due to his old age. According to zoo officials, 20-year-old Ramu, who had become immobile since few months, died on Monday evening. "He was suffering from various age related problems for the last few months and was being treated regularly for that...he succumbed to lungs, liver and kidney failure," zoo veterinarian Paneer Selvam said.
With Ramu's death, the Delhi zoo is now left with four female Royal Bengal tigers namely Rani, Xingxing, Priya and Kunti. A Royal Bengal tiger has a life span of around 16-18 years in wild, while in captivity they may live up to the age of 20-21 years. The tiger was precisely 20 years, 8 months and 28 days old when he passed away.
“Ramu was born and brought up in captivity at Indore zoo and was brought to the National Zoological Park only in 1999,” said Riyaz Ahmed Khan, Delhi zoo curator. He said that Ramu fell sick last winter after he suffered a severe stroke, but he gradually recovered. In the last couple of months, he fell ill and remained immobile since then.
"We are planning to replace Ramu's loss by bringing in another male tiger from somewhere, so that we can start with our breeding process," he said adding the Delhi zoo will be writing to the Central Zoo Authority, asking it to give a male Royal Bengal Tiger during the zoo exchange programme. The zoo authorities also informed that they are expecting the birth of a white tiger soon.