KARACHI: In a rather sorrowful development for animal lovers in the port city of Karachi, a Bengal tigress residing at the Karachi Zoo died last week, the Zoo officials have revealed.
Confirming that the tigress “died a week ago”, the zoo administration said that the animal passed away after a prolonged illness.
Providing details on the matter, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) officials said the big cat was 30 years old and passed away due to natural causes. They also added that the Bengal Tigers’ average life span is between 18 to 20 years.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Royal Bengal Tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) are found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh and generally live anywhere between 14 to 16 years in the wild.
The death comes over a year after 17-year-old African elephant “Noor Jehan” lost her battle against blood parasite disease and died at the Karachi Zoo after years in captivity in April last year.
Commenting on the big cat’s death, Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Co-founder Mahera Omar said that animals in captivity generally don’t live as long as animals in the wild.
They are more vulnerable to diseases due to being confined, she said, adding that, “Big cats kept in captivity suffer from zoochosis — a form of psychosis involving unnatural behavior such as pacing back and forth, biting the cage bars, excessive licking, etc”.
However, she noted that such behavior is not limited to the family of cats; in fact, it has also been seen affecting wolves, bears, and other animals.
Captivity takes a physical and mental toll on wild animals as their behavioral, psychological and social needs are not met which shortens their lifespan.
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