An eight-year-old Asiatic lion, which had been suffering from illness, died in the century old Mysuru zoo on Monday evening. The lion, Shankar, had been brought to the zoo five years ago from Sakkarbaugh Zoo, Junagadh, in Gujarat.
Zoo authorities said the lion had become dull and stopped eating since April 30 and was taken into the squeeze cage. “We got in touch with veterinarians of Hyderabad Zoo lion Safari and Shivamogga lion Safari on treating the animal On May 7. C Ansar Kamran, professor at the Department of Medicine, Veterinary College, Hassan, was called and his opinion sought", said zoo Executive Director S Venkatesan.
According to him the blood examination revealed that the lion was suffering from kidney and liver problems. However the treatment continued since then following Prof. Ansar Kamran's advice but it went in vain, he said in a statement.
With the death of the lion, the zoo is now left with an Asiatic lioness, Gowri, who was brought along with Shankar from Gujarat under an exchange programme. But Gowri too has health problems and has not fully recovered from an ailment despite treatment. Gowri had once delivered a cub which did not survive. Asiatic lions have been listed as endangered species, found only in the Gir forest in Gujarat. Sakkarbaug Zoo is famous for breeding Asiatic lions.
Century old Mysuru Zoo is known for its captive breeding of endangered species. recently in one of the rarest feats in the history of Mysuru Zoo, had bred a Zebra in captivity for the first time. According to Zoo authorities Riddhi, a Zebra which was brought from Israel in early 2014, gave birth to a foal creating a record in Mysuru Zoo's conservation center in captivity.
Captive breeding center in Mysuru Zoo is known for breeding Tigers giraffe, and other animals. But the birth in captivity of a Zebra gave impetus to its efforts in breeding the animals in the zoo. They had a record of pairing a wild tiger with a captive tigress which led to a new bloodline. In 2007 Mysuru Zoo got female giraffe Kushi from lucknow Zoo, the giraffes have given birth to four calves in seven years.
Mysore Zoo (officially the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens) is one of the oldest and most popular zoos in India, and is home to a wide range of species . Mysore Zoo was created in 1892 of the summer palace of Maharaja Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar, and was originally called the Palace Zoo. The zoo was originally set up by G.H. Krumbeigal, a German landscaper and horticulturist. However the zoo was opened to the public in 1902.