India’s Oldest Captive Tiger Dies

Swati, the oldest tiger in captivity in India, died of old age in the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati in the early hours of Sunday. She would have been 21 in January 2018. “She was not keeping good health for the past few days. She was under special care for quite some time now and was also failing in eyesight apart from losing weight,” Tejas Mariswamy, divisional forest officer in charge of the zoo, The Indian Express reported.  Born in Mysore Zoo in 1998, Swati was brought to Guwahati in 2005 even as she had already given birth to five cubs there. In Guwahati, the Royal Bengal tigress gave birth to six more cubs. The average lifespan of a Royal Bengal tiger in the wild is between 14 and 16 years, while those in captivity have an average lifespan of 18. With the death of Swati, the zoo is left with four female tigers–two Royal Bengal Tigers and two white tigers. “We are in the process of acquiring a male tiger soon,” Mariswamy said.