16-year-old leopard dies in Bhubaneswar Zoo

A male leopard, 'Suraj', in the Nandankanan Zoological Park has died allegedly due to respiratory distress. 'Suraj' was rescued from Bhanjanagar in July 2004 at the age of 3-4 months and reared at Nandankanan.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): A 16-year-old male leopard called Suraj passed away on Tuesday night at the Nandankanan Zoological Park here due to alleged respiratory distress, the zoo said today.

The leopard was undergoing treatment for Babesiosis, a tick-borne disease for the last one and a half months. Suraj was responding to treatments and his condition improved but on Tuesday afternoon, Suraj was in respiratory distress.

"The leopard was responding to the treatment; his appetite returned and the diarrhoea had subsided. But, yesterday afternoon, he suddenly became sick due to respiratory distress which could be caused by internal bleeding," District Forest Officer Jayanta Das, Nandankanan told reporters.

The postmortem of the leopard, which passed away yesterday at 11 pm, is currently underway. The details of his death are yet to be ascertained.

According to zoo officials, 'Suraj' was rescued from Bhanjanagar in July 2004 at the age of 3-4 months and reared at Nandankanan.

After his death the Nandankanan Zoo has now three male and two female leopards.

On an average, the lifespan of a leopard ranges between 12 years to 17 years.

ANI