Friday, July 23, 2010
Oldest animal of Dhaka Zoo dies
Staff CorrespondentAfter entertaining people for more than half a century, the Dhaka Zoo's oldest animal, a female Asian elephant named Pabantara died yesterday afternoon of old age complications.
The zoo authorities said, Pabantara had become very old and was having difficulty eating anything solid like grass or banana leaves for the last few days.
She suddenly collapsed yesterday afternoon and died soon after.
“It might have been cardiac arrest or stroke due to the sweltering summer heat,” said Dr Shahidullah, the acting curator of zoo.
"The deputy commissioner of Bandarban brought the 50-year-old elephant in 1957," said Shahidullah, over the phone.
“He brought her as a gift in the days when the zoo was located at Ramna near the High Court,” he said.
At least 23 animals died in Dhaka Zoo over the last 18 months, including three giraffes, a leopard, a young male lion, a Royal Bengal Tiger, a sambar deer, a baboon, a wildebeest and a Malayan tapir.
Besides, another Royal Bengal tiger, two fresh water crocodiles, one zebra and a stork died in February 2009.
The zoo is located on a sprawling 186 acres in Mirpur accommodating around 2,160 animals of 157 species.
It boasts 57 species of mammals, 61 species of birds, 11 species of reptiles and 28 species of fish.
RIP Pabantara
