Another leopard drops dead at SGNP

Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) authorities were left deeply concerned when they lost yet another big cat on Saturday. Netra, a 13-year-old female leopard, was found dead in her cage at 7.30 am.

Netra is the fourth big cat to have died in that past two months. Since October 12, one lioness, and three leopards have died in the park. While park authorities have attributed all four deaths to age-related ailments, the spate of deaths does put a question mark on their health and maintenance, due to which they are planning more checks to remove the possibility of an infection. SGNP authorities have written to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) as well as the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) at Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, in this regard.

In 2007, Netra was brought to the park from the Ahmednagar rescue centre, when she was about 6 years old. "She seemed perfectly healthy. She was just having some difficulty moving her hind legs on Friday," said Vikas Gupta, SGNP director and chief conservator of forests. Dr Yuvraj Kaginkar, consulting vet at the park, said, "Post-mortem reports indicated ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen) and minor haemorrhages in the intestine. We will be sending blood samples to the IVRI on Monday."

"While deaths related to old age is normal, deaths in such a quick succession is a cause for concern. We have written to the CZA to send a team of vets to visit the zoo. They will most probably come next week," he added.
According to the director, another 16-year-old female leopard is being observed closely. "She has not been eating for the past 4 days," he said.