A sloth bear succumbed to liver cancer at the city zoo on Wednesday morning.
The sloth bear, Ravi, was one of the two at the zoo. A post-mortem examination conducted by Swapna Susan Abraham, Disease Investigation Officer, Chief Disease Investigation Office, Palode, revealed cancerous tissue in the animal’s liver.
Ravi had been brought from the Mysore zoo along with a female sloth bear Sita back in 1992 when he was five years old. The couple bred many times but their young ones did not survive until a female, named Sindhu, was born over seven years ago. Sita died in 2013.
Ravi had not been keeping well for some time, and was recently at the zoo hospital following lack of appetite and pus discharge from nose. He was sent back to his enclosure after treatment but was back in no time.
An ultrasound revealed the presence of cancer nodules in his liver. Ravi’s delicate health, however, ruled out chances of any biopsy, zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander said.
Shifting
The Himalayan bears were shifted to the sloth bear enclosure, and a new squeeze built in the Himalayan bear enclosure to house Ravi to provide him necessary treatment. Though he ate fruit and honey initially, towards the end, he was surviving on electrolytes alone.
In between, he was also taken to the TB Centre here where tests on samples of blood and tissue ruled out tuberculosis.
Ravi’s liver would be put on display at the soon-to-be-opened museum in the wildlife diseases section at the Palode investigation office, Dr. Alexander said.
Meanwhile, the zoo has held talks with the Nandankanan zoo in Odisha for bringing a young male sloth bear in exchange for rheas from here. The female sloth bear Sindhu was in good health, Dr. Alexander said. Aishwarya, an elderly lioness, continues to convalesce at the zoo hospital. Aishwarya, nearly 18 years old, has been at hospital for a month.
She spends most of her time lying down, forcing the zoo officials to adopt steps to prevent bed sores. Rubber mats have been laid down for her.
She is bathed daily and dusting powder sprinkled over her. Infrared lights are also used on her to improve blood circulation.
The zoo also saw the birth of twins to a Nilgai. The female had given birth to twins last year too. With the new births, the total number of Nilgai at the zoo has risen to nine.
