Sangeetha, the sole jaguar at the city zoo, died on Sunday morning. She was 24.
She had been off-exhibit for the past one year and had been living at the zoo hospital owing to old age-related ailments.
In the wild, the average lifespan of a jaguar is estimated at 12-15 years, but in captivity they can live up to 23 years.
The post-mortem examination, conducted by Nandakumar S. of the Chief Disease Investigation Office, Palode, found old age-related changes in the animal.
She also had a tumour in her uterus that had been preventing reproduction, though its mate Salman was fertile, zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander said.
The 18-year-old Salman had been given to the Delhi zoo on a breeding loan in exchange for a white tiger in 2014, but died there of liver cancer on December 6 last year. Sangeetha and Salman had been brought from the Nehru Zoological Park at Hyderabad in September 2003.
Sangeetha had been in the hospital very frequently, and had been anaesthetised more than 20 times for different procedures, including skin tumour removal, in the past five years.
She would have to be anaesthetised if she had to be shampooed to clean her matted hair or her nails had to be trimmed.
Long nails caused wounds, which would have to be bandaged regularly.
She had keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea. She had problem walking, as arthritis had led to an angulation in her limbs. She also had to be hand fed by the hospital keeper Sabir.
Serious injuries
In 2012, Sangeetha suffered serious injuries on her right forelimb and it required over 70 stitches to reattach her paw. Past her prime, she was reportedly attacked by Salman on account of her lukewarm response to his attempt at mating.
It was after the attack that the tumour in her uterus was detected.
Salman did not increase his tribe at the Delhi zoo, with charges of being too fat and too lazy being thrown at him. There were even reports of him being sent back to the State in 2015.
With both the jaguars now dead, the city zoo is looking forward to the nod of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to its proposal to bring a pair of jaguars, along with giraffes and zebra, from Africa.
