Many big cats at BBP are very sick

Their SGPT, BUN and creatinine levels have crossed much beyond the normal level.
The animals at the rescue centre have been in the news for some time for their poor health. The Park had subjected all the 55 animals (53 lions and 2 tigers), most of them rescued from circus companies and in the age group of 15-24 years, to various clinical and biological observations. Blood samples were drawn to ascertain the functional status of their vital organs.

All the 21 RC animals are now brought under intensive care and medication by veterinarians through a defined line of treatment to address their health problems. R Raju, executive director of BBP, said the situation was “not satisfactory but manageable for the time being.”

As a course of continued treatment, medication and surgical interventions and timely actions are taken by the BBP management to ensure the health conditions of the sick animals.

Surgery was also conducted on a 20-year-old lion, Gemini, which was suffering from suspected Fibroma/Mixoma on his hind limbs for the past two-three months. The animal was operated on and is under intensive care.

Similarly, Jamuna, a 19-year-old lioness, suffered from suspected parenchymatous neoplastic cystitis of the mammary gland. Surgery was conducted on the animal and she is under post-operative care with a definite line of treatment in the intensive care unit.

Preetha, a 19-year-old white tiger was suffering from squamous cell carcinoma of the left eye. The animal underwent surgery where the growth was removed and is now under intensive care.

The operations were conducted by a team of experts headed by Dr Vasanth M Shetty, Dean of Veterinary College, along with Dr B C Chittiappa, Assistant Director (Veterinary Service), BBP, Dr Kuruvilla, Dr Arshad, Dr Shilpa and Dr Arun. The health condition of the animals is presently stable and is being monitored closely with medical care.