Udaipur : In a horrifying and tragic incident, a female tigress was mauled to death by a male after it barged into her enclosure on Thursday afternoon. Damini the 13 year old tigress was one of the major attractions and the beloved one for the visitors at the Sajjangarh zoological park since she was brought here from Pune.
The male tiger Kumar had been brought later from Karnataka and both the tigers were kept in separate enclosures adjacently. The male tiger which crept into Damini’s cage, attacked her perhaps because she wasnot receptive of his approach. The struggle between the big cats was witnessed by many visitors who were around the area at the moment.
Big cats introductions can be perilous even if they are kept in adjacent close enclosures where they can see, smell and react to each other, experts view. ” A male tiger is very powerful and it takes only minutes for it to maul the female if she isnt in the Oestrus cycle. Perhaps this would have been the case with Damini which was killed by Kumar.
This is the first case where any male animal has killed a female partner. Whether it is negligence on the part of the caretakers at the park or the substandard material of the fencing that the tiger found a way to enter Damini’s enclosure, would only be known after a detailed investigation” Rahul Bhatnagar, retired CCF opined. Meanwhile, none of the authorities from the forest department were unable for a comment. According to experts, oestrus refers to the time in which a female tiger is receptive and likely to conceive.
She will enter oestrus once every three to nine weeks and is in optimal conception state for three to six days of this period. Just before her oestrus begins, the femalepa begin advertising her readiness by marking her range, urinating within the particular area with distinctive-smelling urine. This lets males know that she will perhaps accept their attempts to mate with her.