Parade of animal deaths at Sepahijala Zoo: Multiple questions on the role of authorities!

A pall of glom has descended over the pride of the state, Sepahijala Zoo, as animal deaths continue to occur one after another.

 Animal lovers across the state are disheartened. What’s surprising is that instead of uncovering the root causes behind these continuous deaths, the zoo authorities seem more focused on damage control. Various justifications are being presented before the media.

In the past fortnight alone, two 4-years-old male lions and an adult spotted deer have died.

According to sources, the contractor responsible for supplying food to the zoo has been allegedly managing the authorities and local leaders to continuously provide extremely low-quality food over the years — at the expense of the helpless animals.

Sources that instead of feeding the tigers and lions 60 to 70 kilograms of fresh meat daily, as required, meat is being sourced cheaply from sick, dying, or already dead animals. As a result, instead of staying healthy, the animals are falling ill and dying.

When questioned about the cause of repeated lion and deer deaths, the attending veterinary doctor at Sepahijala Zoo, Dr. Keshab Debnath, stated that the lion deaths were not unexpected to the zoo authorities. According to veterinary science, if a pair of animals is siblings and they reproduce, their offspring have a high risk of genetic disorders.

On May 15 and May 25, despite all efforts by doctors, two 4-years-old lions named Miro and Chiro succumbed. Their parents Ram and Sita, had been sent to North Bengal Safari in West Bengal in February last year as part of an exchange programme. Ram and Sita were siblings. Four years ago, they gave birth to four lion cubs, including Miro and Chiro. Two of the cubs died shortly after birth, while Miro and Chiro, though plagued with various health issues, and grew up under the zoo's care.

Before their deaths, both lions weighed about 120 kilograms and lived in Enclosure No. 19. Since May 6, they had shown symptoms of low immunity due to severe gastritis and had stopped eating. Despite being given saline and other medications under the supervision of the zoo hospital’s veterinarians, the two Schedule I category lions could not be saved.

Following their deaths, a team of doctors from Tripura Veterinary Medical College in R.K. Nagar visited the zoo, performed autopsies, and sent various samples to a laboratory in Hyderabad for further analysis.

Meanwhile, as per Indian Zoo Authority regulations, the dead lions were buried on Sunday at a designated spot within the zoo. While doctors are citing various medical reasons for the deaths, allegations persist that the persistent supply of substandard food over the years has left the zoo animals increasingly weak and sick.