Bengal tiger 'Bittu' dies at Delhi zoo after kidney disorder symptoms

New Delhi: A 15-year-old Bengal tiger having symptoms of "chronic kidney disorder" died at the Delhi zoo on Thursday, officials said. The tiger named 'B-2' or Bittu was not keeping well for many months. He breathed his last at 9.25 am, Zoo Director Ramesh Pandey said.

'B-2', who was brought from Van Vihar Zoo, Bhopal, in 2014, had completed his average life span, Pandey said.

A Bengal tiger has an average lifespan of eight to 10 years in the wild. The maximum lifespan of the animal is about 15 years.


"Best possible treatment and personal care was given to the animal in consultation with experts from Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly. B-2 was under intensive care for more than 20 days," he said.

An autopsy will be conducted by a panel of veterinary doctors, and viscera will be sent to IVRI for histo-pathological and other examinations to ascertain the causes of death, Pandey said.

The Delhi zoo had three Royal Bengal tigers till a year ago.

One of them, eight-year-old Rama, died in September 2019 due to kidney failure. He was brought from the Mysore zoo in 2014.

On Wednesday, the zoo got a Royal Bengal tigress, the first in six years, from the Kanpur zoo for breeding proposes under an animal exchange programme.

The tigress, Barkha, is six years old. She will form a pair with Karan, who is also around six.

The Delhi zoo did not have a Royal Bengal tigress for six years despite it being a participating zoo for the Conservation Breeding Programme of Bengal Tiger, according to its Director Ramesh Pandey.