NEW DELHI, July 11: Royal Bengal tiger Raja, one of the country’s oldest tigers in captivity, died in the Jaldapara forest of West Bengal’s Alipurduar district. He was estimated to be 25. The state forest department had celebrated the big cat’s 25th birthday at his shelter on August 23 last year.
Raja had sustained serious injuries after a crocodile attacked him while crossing the Matla River in the Sundarbans in 2008. Raja, who had been taken to the South Khayerbari Tiger Rescue Centre since 2008, walked on a prosthetic limb after surviving the attack, Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy said.
Raja did not show any symptoms of serious illness and the vets diagnosed the cause of his death as old-age-related problems, Roy said. According to the forest official, the carnivore died late on Sunday at the age of 25 years and 10 months, the oldest for any Royal Bengal Tiger, Roy said on Monday.
However, the official could not confirm if Raja was the oldest Royal Bengal Tiger in the country. He said big cats don’t usually live beyond 20 years.
Based on several standard protocols to assess, the department had arrived at the tiger’s age in 2008 at 12.
Raja used to respond to the calls of his keepers and vets who looked after him, an official said. “He was like a child. He seemed to understand everything,” Roy said.
(Manas Dasgupta)