Lioness-brought-Gujarat-zoo-Kerala-exchange-Malabar-squirrels-seriously-ill

The lioness is not responding to antibiotics and is currently at the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, which was meant to be a transit point on its way to Safari Park at Neyyar.

• Haritha John
 
• Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - 16:17
  
  A lioness brought from Sakkarbaug Zoological Gardens, Gujarat, to Thiruvananthapuram's Safari Park at Neyyar, is seriously ill and has been diagnosed with posterior paralysis. The lioness is presently in Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, which was meant to be a transit point on its way to Safari Park.
  Radha and Nagaraj, an Asiatic lioness and lion pair, were brought  to Kerala in August, in exchange for two giant Malabar squirrels, Diana and George. Radha was weak from the first day the animal reached the city.
  "The lioness's forelegs and front part of the body are active. Its white blood cell counts are high which shows that the animal has a bacterial infection, but we could not find where it is despite doing all tests," Dr Easwaran EK, Chief Forest Veterinary Officer told TNM.
  
  The officer said that like other forms of life, lions too harbour bacteria in their body and that due to the stress induced by long travel, the animal's immunity level could have dropped. This may have caused an infection to flare up. However, the animal is not responding to medication.
  "The lioness is not responding to antibiotics for the last three weeks. Generally, in such infections, antibiotics should be effective," he said.
  The Gujarat zoo had certified the lion pair as healthy before they were transported to Kerala.
  "We had done all the preparations one month prior to the transit," Dr Easwaran said, adding that all precautionary measures were taken to make the animals comfortable throughout the travel.
  "Two of our caretakers were sent to Sakkarbaug Zoo a month before the transit to get acquainted with the animals . We only traveled 500 kilometres a day to avoid causing stress to them. Apart from that, we stopped at certain intervals to provide them water and food," he said.
  Earlier in 2014, a white tiger was brought to Thiruvananthapuram Zoo from Delhi.  Dr Easwaran observes that such infections happen mostly with lions rather than tigers.
  "Tigers are solitary animals, whereas lions live in groups. Separating them can also be a reason for their stress," he said.
  The authorities at Neyyar Safari Park were hoping that Radha and Nagaraj would save the zoo from closure. The park once had 15 lions and the number dwindled to just two by 2019. In February this, one of the two last lions died and the park was on the verge of closure. The State Tourism Department had targeted a higher number of visitors during Onam season.
  Dr Easwaran said that earlier, the Gujarat zoo was not willing to give Asiatic lions. However, frequent deaths of the animals due to canine distemper virus persuaded the authorities to start sending them to other zoos.
  George and Diana, the two Malabar squirrels, seem to be healthy in the Gujarat zoo, according to the officials.
  
  https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/lioness-brought-gujarat-zoo-kerala-exchange-malabar-squirrels-seriously-ill-109043