[FEL-L] Another tiger dies at Pakistan Zoo

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

LAHORE: A tigress that was suffering from trypanosomiasis and was 15 
years of age, died at the Lahore Zoo on Saturday. 
Similarly, another Bengal tigress of age 14 died a day before on 
Thursday at the Lahore Zoo because of the same disease. This tigress 
had given the zoo 19 cubs. 
Trypanosomiasis is a blood parasite transmitted from infected 
individuals by vectors like mosquitos, fleas and ticks. The parasite 
attacks the nervous system through blood causing drowsiness, 
sleepiness, fever, weight loss and ultimately death. The incubation 
period of disease ranges between one to four weeks. 
The Bengal Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a 
subspecies of tiger primarily found in Bangladesh and India and also 
in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and in southern Tibet. It is the most common 
tiger subspecies, and lives in a variety of habitats, including 
grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet 
and dry deciduous forests and mangroves. Its fur is generally orange- 
brown with black stripes, although there is a mutation that sometimes 
produces white tigers, as well as a rare variation (less than 100 
known to exist, all in captivity) called the Golden Tabby that has a 
white coat with golden patches and stripes that are much paler than 
normal. It is the national animal of both Bangladesh and India. 
In the beginning of 2007, precautionary measures, such as mosquito 
repellents were sprayed in cages and the cages were repainted. 
The zoo administration had meetings with animal experts and veternians 
to deal with the spread of trypanosomiasis in tigers and treatments 
and measures recommended by experts were strictly followed, but the 
efforts went futile. 
The zoo is only left with three young tigers and one old tiger. 
The Lahore zoo got a pair of tigers in 1992 from Belgium and started 
their captive breeding and got more tigers from them. 
In 1997, six tigers died of this disease at the Lahore Zoo. 
Tigers across the globe have been victim to trypanosomiasis. The 
disease caused the death of twelve tigers at the Nanadankanan Zoo in 
Orissa. In India and Bangladesh, two hundred tigers have died in six 
months because of the disease. 
Three Bengal tigers had died at Lahore Zoo in 2006. 
_http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C07%5C15%5Cstory_15-7-200
7_pg13_8_ 
(http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\07\15\story_15-7-2007_pg13_8)  



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