7-month-old tiger cub dies at Tata zoo

A 7-month-old female tiger cub died in the Tata Steel Zoological Park, a Tata Steel statement said.

The cub died at the zoo on Sunday afternoon, the statement said yesterday.

It was born on August 23 last year and was put under symptomatic treatment for Babesiosis, it said.

According to Oxford Dictionaries, Babesiosis is a disease of cattle and other livestock, transmitted by the bite of ticks. It affects the red blood cells and causes the passing of red or blackish urine. The disease is caused by protozoans of the genus Babesia, phylum Sporozoa.

A post-mortem examination was carried out by a team of veterinarians, including the consultant of the zoo V K Singh, in presence of a forest department official and two senior officials of the zoo, the statement added.

Currently, the Tata Steel Zoological Park has five tigers, it said.