Bajirao, The Only Surviving White Tiger In Mumbai Dies Due To Old Age In Captivity

A ¡®royal¡¯ tiger housed in captivity at the city¡¯s National Park died of old age early on Friday. The park¡¯s only surviving white tiger, Bajirao, who was 18 years old, was unable to walk due to long-standing arthritis.

Bajirao had been afflicted with ¡®chronic senile generalised arthritis¡¯ for four years. The condition is akin to an aged human¡¯s inability to walk, said Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) at Borivli. The park now has six tigers, four of them females.

Bajirao also had chronic ankylosis on the left elbow, that is his elbow joint had ceased to exist, causing fusion of bones.

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¡°There was pus formation around that region,¡± said Dr Pethe, adding that Bajirao had died of old age. A team of doctors from Bombay Veterinary College and retired veterinarians from SGNP had been treating the tiger, said an SGNP official.

The carcass was cremated after a post-mortem was conducted. The autopsy report cited ¡°multi-organ failure, complicated with old age¡± as probable cause of death.

While it is a common practice to preserve carcasses of wild animals through taxidermy, it will not be possible in Bajirao¡¯s case as his skin condition was not good, said Dr Santosh Gaikwad, wildlife taxidermist of SGNP.

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¡°The park authorities wanted to preserve Bajirao¡¯s carcass through taxidermy, but he had lost at least 25% of his fur. This condition, alopecia, is due to old age,¡± said Dr Gaikwad, professor of anatomy at Mumbai Veterinary College.

Bajirao had outlived a tiger¡¯s average lifespan, said range forest officer Sanjay Waghmode, superintendent of the lion safari park. ¡°A tiger¡¯s average maximum lifespan is 15 years, but Bajirao lived beyond this thanks to proper management while in captivity.¡±