Rest in peace: Moti, the Lahore Zoo puma, dies of blood disease

Moti and its partner Billi were brought to the Zoo under a Jungle Exchange Programme in 2008

LAHORE: A male puma at the Lahore Zoo, named Moti, died on Saturday at nine years of age.

Dr Samuel Shehrzaad, veterinary doctor at the Lahore Zoo, told The Express Tribune that the animal had been suffering from trypanosomiasis, a blood disease. “It is a tick-borne disease. The specie is common in dogs and cats,” he said. Dr Shehrzaad said that the puma had first contracted the disease in January. He said it had recovered from the disease but some parasites might have remained dormant, causing the disease to resurface.

Lahore Zoo Deputy Director Mudassar Hassan said Moti had been lethargic for some days. “It stopped taking feed five days ago,” he said. Besides the consultants available at the zoo, doctors from the University of Veterinary Sciences were also consulted for its treatment, he said. He added that the animal’s immunity to diseases had deteriorated because of old age.

The life span of a puma in the wild is between 8 to 10 years but it lives longer than 10 years in captivity, Lahore Zoo Director Shafqat Ali said.

He said Moti and his partner, Billi, had had six children. He said four of them had survived. Of these, he said, a pair had been given to the Safari Park in Lahore.

“The survival rate of puma cubs is very low. About one in five cubs survives,” said Dr Shehrzaad.

The pair of pumas had been brought to Lahore Zoo through a Jungle Exchange Programme in 2008. It was the first pair of pumas to be added to the Zoo collection since 1986. The puma specie is indigenous to South America.

Ali said he believed that the pair had been sexually active and that Billi was pregnant. Dr Shehrzaad said pregnancy could be confirmed in the next 20 days.

The body of the deceased animal was sent to the University of Animal and Veterinary Sciences for a post-mortem examination.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2015.