HYDERABAD: Just a few days after a 14-year-old cheetah named Abdullah that was gifted to the zoo by the Prince of Saudi Arabia died of heart attack, a male Royal Bengal tiger named Joe died due to prolonged illness on Wednesday at the Nehru Zoological Park.
Joe, born to Nikhil and Aparna, has dyspepsia — indigestion and lack of appetite — and has been on treatment for the past six months. According to zoo officials, Joe showed frequent appetite loss, changed diet patterns, and became lean. The zoo authorities stated that Joe died away in the enclosure despite receiving expert care and every effort was made to save its life.
"Joe was receiving constant treatment and had stopped eating. It succumbed to renal failure at 3 am on Wednesday. Postmortem report confirmed renal failure as the cause of death," said a zoo official. Following Joe's death, the zoo now has approximately 14 Royal Bengal tigers and seven white tigers.
Recently, the zoo's lone cheetah, Abdullah, died. In 2013, the Saudi prince gifted two cheetahs and two African lions from the National Wildlife Research Centre of Saudi Arabia.
In 2020, an 11-year-old Bengal tiger named Kadamba died in the zoo after suffering from heart failure. In 2019, a white tiger, Badri, died at the zoo while undergoing treatment for a tumour below its ear.
