5-year-old tiger Juli dies at S V Zoo park

Tirupati: A five-year-old female tiger named Juli passed away on Sunday at the SV Zoological Park in Tirupati due to health complications, zoo officials announced.

Juli had been transferred to the SV Zoo Park from the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Park in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on February 13, 2024, as part of an animal exchange programme. In early June, Juli sustained injuries while playing in her day enclosure. The zoo's veterinary team found wounds on her left hind leg and the lower part of her abdomen.

After the injury, Juli stopped eating and drinking, prompting further examination by experts, including members of the Zoo Health Committee and retired Deputy Director Naveen from Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. This examination uncovered a dislocated stifle joint and a fracture in her left hind leg.

Despite medical treatment over the past 20 days, Juli did not respond well and continued to refuse food. She ultimately succumbed to her condition on Sunday. A post-mortem examination by a pathology team from SV Veterinary University revealed that her death was caused by intestinal torsion, which involves twists in the small intestine.