An 18-year-old Royal Bengal tiger Nikhil is criticially ill at the Nehru Zoological Park, zoo authorities said.
The big cat has been suffering from age-related complications for the past two months, and has stopped taking nourishment for the last two days.
“The male tiger is ill with Broncho-Pneumonia. Usually tigers live for about 15 years in the wild, and up to 20 years in the protected environment of zoo,” the Zoo veterinarian Mohd. Abdul Hakeem said.
The feline has been kept under intensive care, and looked after by a medical expert. The zoo has 10 ordinary Royal Bengal tigers and 12 white tigers. Two white tigers and one ordinary tiger are above 15 years of age.