Lone zebra at city zoo dies

Cardiac arrest kills the animal, one of the zoo’s oldest residents

Zoo keeper places flowers on the body of Sitha, the lone zebra at the Thiruvananthapuram zoo, which died on Sunday.

Sita, a zebra and one of the city zoo’s oldest members, died here on Sunday morning following cardiac arrest.

Sita was the lone zebra in the zoo’s collection. Post-mortem examination was conducted in the afternoon by Swapna Susan Abraham, disease investigation officer, and S. Nandakumar, veterinary surgeon, at the Chief Disease Investigation Office, Palode. She was buried in the evening in the zoo’s burial year beyond the rhino enclosure.

Sita had been fine when the keeper on night shift ended his watch in the morning.

However, when the daytime keeper arrived she was lying on the ground. Livestock inspector Renjith Kumar, who was on his rounds, informed zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander immediately.

It was apparent that she was breathing her last, Dr. Alexander said.

Chronic arthritis

Sita had not been on display for the public since the fag end of last year, her chronic arthritis making it difficult for her to walk. She had been made comfortable in a portion of her enclosure where she could be assured of peace and quiet.

To minimise any injuries from falling down in her condition, the ground had been covered with sand. Sita also had laminitis but it had been under control following a steady dose of medicines. Her old age also meant she had problems chewing. However, the animal had been going about routine activities.

Sita had been leading a lonely life at the zoo despite many efforts to secure a partner for her. She had been brought at the age of 10 from the Vandalur zoo in Chennai in April 2002 to partner Mani, the resident zebra of the zoo. However, they were not to be together for Mani who suffered from laminitis died a few months later.

The average life span of a zebra is 25-30 years, but like all equines they start developing old-age related complications around the age of 20.