After the zebras, a tiger dies at the Safari Park
After the death of 10 zebras, a tiger has died at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur. A five-member probe team is investigating the death of 10 zebras. It has been learned during the investigation that a tiger has also died there. The project director of Safari Park, Md Zahidul Kabir disclosed this information on Sunday at noon.
The safari park authorities had not previously reported the death of the tiger to the media. It only came to the fore when local MP Iqbal Hossain went there to inquire about the death of 10 zebras and asked the project director whether the news about the death of a tiger, which he got from a secret source, was true or not. At this point, the project director informed the MP that the tiger died on 12 January. It was brought from South Africa. The tiger died after a month and a half of treatment.
Regarding this, project director Md Zahidul Kabir told Prothom Alo that the tiger had been suffering from an infection in its legs for a long time. When the tiger’s condition worsened a month and a half ago, it was given advanced treatment.
The tiger was being treated on the advice of specialists, but it could not be saved eventually. Samples from the deceased tiger’s body have been sent to the laboratory. It is yet to be known whether the tiger was suffering from a disease or not.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has formed a probe committee headed by the ministry’s additional secretary Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik. The other members of the committee are – the ministry’s deputy secretary Mohammad Abdul Wadud, former official of Central Veterinary Hospital, ABM Shahidullah, Mollah Rezaul Karim, conservator of forest of wildlife & nature conservation circle and Monirul H Khan, professor of zoology at Jahangirnagar University.
According to the Safari Park authorities, a total of 11 zebras have died in between 2 to 30 January. The total number of zebras at the park was 31 at first, which now has reduced to 20. Besides, the number of the tigers in the park came down to nine from 10.
Authorities at the safari park said after testing the body samples of the deceased zebras and completing the autopsy, they found that four of the zebras have died during clashes between themselves. The other seven have died of bacterial infections. The grass growing in the zebra's pastures and the source of the supplied grass have also been tested.
Local MP Iqbal Hossain has expressed his discontent over concealing information about the death of 11 zebras and a tiger. He said, “The probe committee will not be able to investigate properly if they (senior officials of the safari park) are kept in their posts. The investigation should be started after these officials made OSD.”
Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, head of the probe committee formed by the ministry, told Prothom Alo that the committee was working on various data. They are working on the cause of death of zebras that have died and what can be done to deal with such disasters in the future.