Himalayan bear Bhavani dies of multi-organ failure

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The grand old Himalayan bear, Bhavani, 25, died at Thiruvananthapuram Zoo due to old age. Dr. Swapna Susan Abraham and veterinarians from Mannuthy Veterinary College conducted a post-mortem which showed that death was due to multi-organ failure. Bhavani had been bedridden and in hospital for the past one month. As she was not able to eat on her own, food and water were being fed through tubes and syringes since the last one month.

Honey, milk, ragi, rice porridge, boiled egg, water melon, cucumber, grapes, groundnuts and ice cubes were given to Bhavani. Zoo superintendent T. V. Anil Kumar said that Bhavani’s condition worsened on Monday night. Scans and other tests were conducted on Bhavani by expert vets from the Centre for Welfare Life Studies at Pookodu and Bear Rescue Centre in Bannerghatta in Bengaluru. “A Himalayan bear’s average lifespan is 25 years. Bhavani was brought here 12 years ago from Haryana’s Bhivani Mini Zoo and was alone in her cage for the last eight years. Though many efforts were made to find a mate for Bhavani, it was not successful”, said a senior Zoo official to DC.

Though steps were being made from November 2014 to bring two Himalayan beers from Nagaland Zoological Park (NZP) , the efforts have got tangled in red tape. The plan was to bring a pair of Himalayan Bears through Indian Railways and they had even arranged a special chiller to be installed for the smooth travel of the animals. But a top Zoo official told DC that the chiller, rodent-proof cage with fans had been manufactured and were still awaiting the green signal from the railways. He expressed the hope that soon a team from the city Zoo would be leaving for NZP.