Another tiger dies at Tata zoo

A three-and-a-half-year-old female tiger died in the Tata Steel Zoological Park, a Tata Steel statement said today.

The tigress -- Ahana -- was put under symptomatic treatment for Babesiosis, but her condition had started deteriorating in the last 2-3 days and she succumbed to the disease yesterday night at the zoo, the statement 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.

Last week, a seven-month-old female cub had died of the same disease.

The sub-adult tigress Ahana was born to Shanti and Raghav on August 28, 2014 at the Tata Steel Zoological Park.

A post-mortem was carried out by a team of veterinarians in the presence of Divisional Forest Officer Saba Alam Ansari and Director Bipul Chakrabarty.