Bhopal: Van Vihar National Park's second aged and about 17-year-old leopard-Trega -- which has lived 20 per cent more than its normal life, has fallen ill and is being treated by medicos. Trega was brought here when he was only two-and-a-half-years old in 1994 from Sidhi and has spent 15 years in the Park. Park Sources said that population of aged wildlife animals is more in Van Vihar as compared to other zoos. Besides, India's aged lioness 'Rihana', one of the country's most aged leopards, is here.
Their average life is 13 to 14 years and there are four tigers, seven lions and six leopards in Van Vihar which are above their average age. Intense medical assistance was being provided to these animals due to their old age and worsening health. The leopard was not well for the past one and a half years owing to old age problems. The park authorities were providing treatment to the ailing feline in the past. The leopard had fallen ill on last week and was unable to move freely with stiffness in body. It was provided glucose on Wednesday and its blood samples were also sent for test.
The leopard was not eating properly and had gone very fragile. The aged leopard finally succumbed to its illness on Thursday evening at around 6 pm. The autopsy was conducted by Dr HL Sahu of the State Veterinary Hospital, Dr Sima Bhindwal of the State Animal Disease Investigation Laboratory, Dr Kajal Jadhav from SOS and Dr Atul Gupta. The leopard was around seventeen and a half years old. ‘Trega’ was brought to Van Vihar from Sidhi in the year 1994, when it was just two and a half years old. Notably, the Van Vihar National Park is the lone rescue center of the central India, which houses such a large number of aged, hapless and ailing animals.
The wild cats across the world have an average life span of around 10 years, while in India, these wild cats have an average life span of around 13-14 years. On the basis of these facts and figures, the deceased Van Vihar leopard has lived almost double the average life span of wild cats. Van Vihar is also the rescue center of the country, which has such a large number of aged wild animals. However, after January 2006, two other leopards have died at Van Vihar. These two leopards are; female leopard Sidhi, aged around seven and a half years, which had died in an accident last year inside its enclosure and a male Sheru aged around seventeen years, which died this year. The park has also once again released the list of wild animals, which have completed their average life span.