White tigress dies after delivery in zoo

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Zoo lost yet another striped cat last week when a white tigress died of septicaemia contracted after delivering four cubs.

The eight-year-old tigress, Khushi, died last Thursday. “She managed to deliver one live cub last while two were stillborn. Another one was stuck inside her womb, which caused the infection,” said R A Khan, curator of Delhi zoo. The cub which was delivered alive also died after a few hours, he said.

“We tried our best to save Khushi. She was on medication all throughout the delivery process. She was under stress while trying to deliver the last cub and did not allow us to remove the other cubs,” Khan said.

The tigress' condition deteriorated soon after the last cub was taken out dead. “It is a sad for us given that we lost them just after the death of a tiger and a tigress,” Khan said.

Earlier, the Delhi Zoo had lost a Royal Bengal tiger and a tigress to old age complications. “We have six white tigers and three Royal Bengal tigers at present. We are trying to increase the number through inbreeding,” the official said.