Jamshedpur, July 24: Tata Steel Zoological Society has lost a family member. Varsha, the ailing female leopard, died this morning in the zoo hospital. A post-mortem was done before the nine-year-old was put in an incinerator.

A favourite among children, Varsha fell sick after liver complications about a month ago. She had stopped taking food and had lost her strength to be ferocious.

Her condition deteriorated gradually till she became completely immobile. She died at 10.15 am today.

M.S. Jain, the director of the zoo, said: “The animal was diagnosed with liver complications but other organs, including the lungs, were also severely affected. It’s a sad day for us.”

“We used to administer saline and medicines and also kept round-the-clock watch over her condition. Treatment was given in consultation with the vet hospital in Bhubaneswar,” he added. 

The zoo is now left with two leopards who were brought from the Jaldapara rescue centre in Bengal.

Of late, big cats have been dying in the zoo fairly regularly. Two lions and as many leopards have died since 2004. While a lion died in 2004, another breathed its last in 2006. An ailing leopard also met with the same fate in 2007. Varsha is the latest casualty.

Jain attributed the deaths to ageing. “The maximum life span of lions and tigers is 17 years while leopards live for 15 years. Animals that have died in our zoo were old. Complications arising because of age are natural. But we would have liked to see the animals live longer,” he added.

As of now, the zoo has a pair of lions and three tigers. These animals are young and the management has future plans. “We are hopeful about breeding when it comes to the big cats presently at our disposal. Let’s see how things unfold,” said Jain, an Indian Forest Service officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

According to him, they have taken extra precaution in the monsoon to prevent spread of disease. “Sunlight is a big source of disinfecting animals. But sunlight is a problem during monsoon. We are very cautious and try to keep the enclosures and zoo premises clean,” he added.