Jaguar dies in Tirupati Zoo

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 8 (PTI) A 15-year-old Jaguar died in SV Zoological park here while trying to climb a tree in its enclosure, zoo officials said.

Named as Kusha, the big cat was transferred to SV Zoological Park (Tirupati zoo) from Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad in 2013.

"It is with profound sadness that the management of the SV Zoological Park, Tirupati, announce the unfortunate and untimely demise of our male jaguar, Kusha, aged approximately 15 years," said an official release from the Tirupati Zoo on Tuesday.

According to Zoo officials, the animal accidently got entangled in its enclourse and could not free itself. Despite immediate rescue by staff and the rapid response from the zoo's veterinary team, Kusha could not be revived.

The official said that a postmortem conducted by expert pathologists at SV Veterinary University confirmed the cause of death as Hypervolemic Shock and Asphyxia, consistent with accidental entanglement while climbing a tree.

The zoo maintained that Kusha was a magnificent animal who captivated visitors for nearly a decade. PTI MS STH KH