Eight-year-old tigress dies at Van Vihar National Park

BHOPAL - An eight-year-old tigress died of lung and kidney infection at the Van Vihar National Park here, officials said Thursday.

“Bandhvi (the tigress) that had been brought from Bandhavgarh National Park in 2006, died Wednesday. A post-mortem suggested death due to infection in lungs and kidneys,” Van Vihar Assistant Director A.K. Khare said.

“She had stopped eating her regular meals since Monday… Subsequently, park veterinarian tried to get her in a cage but were not successful. On Wednesday morning, she was running a temperature. She was soon administered anti-pyretic injections but could not be saved,” he said.

Later, the post-mortem suggested death due to infection in lungs and the kidneys.

Bandhvi had been brought to Van Vihar from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve along with her two female cubs in 2006. While one of the cubs, Ira, died in June last year, the other one is now at Nandan Kanan Zoo. The last big cat to die at Van Vihar was the female panther Rakhi on March 3, 2010.

Currently there are 12 tigers — four male and eight females — at the Van Vihar National Park in this Madhya Pradesh capital.