Will keema-fed Ustad survive constipation in wild?

DEHRADUN: Till just two years ago, T24 used to lord over Ranthambore National Park. Among the most photographed tigers, T24’s rein ended in May 2015, when it was captured and shifted to Sajjangarh Biological Park in Udaipur. That was after the tiger had killed four people, its last victim being a 56-year-old forest guard.

Now, as a debate rages over whether the T24 or Ustad, as the big cat is popularly known, should be released into its natural habitat, wildlife activists and Rajasthan forest department stand divided.

While activists say it was wrong to have termed Ustad a “man eater” for keeping it in captivity, the forest officials cite a Supreme Court order and the tiger’s health issues for not releasing it in its natural habitat.

Ustad suffers from constipation. “We humans suffer from constipation and never realise why. Similarly, Ustad is also facing this problem. Ustad is under observation,” T Mohanraj, director Sajjangarh Biological Park told Hindustan Times.

It has now been nearly two years that Ustad, now 12 years old, has remained confined to an enclosure spread across one hectare. Mohanraj said they take utmost care of the big cat. He is being fed 10-kg ‘keema’ (minced meat) six days a week. “Even in wild, animals don’t get to eat every day. So, we have kept a day off to help relax Ustad’s digestive system,” he added.

Veterinarians, however, differ with Mohanraj on T24’s diet chart. “A wild animal undergoes stress when kept in captivity. Also, keema isn’t a fibre rich diet for tigers. In wild, they also chew the bones to supplement their diet. It is because of these reasons that the peristaltic movement of the digestive tract suffers and the animal faces constipation,” Dr Dushyant Sharma, senior veterinarian based at Corbett Tiger Reserve, said.

Ustad has a history of stomach related ailments. It underwent an operation for an intestinal block in December 2015. Prior to that also Ustad had suffered from bouts of constipation in the wild.

Activists had raised a hue and cry after the tiger was captured and relocated to Sajjangarh Biological Park on the recommendations of forest department. Even the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had observed that there had been “considerable time gap” between the attacks on humans, which were “consequences of chance encounters due to excessive human proximity” to the big cat.

The Sajjangarh Biological Park, however, is not ready to relocate the animal and endanger human lives. “Isn’t human life important? Its shifting to a restricted area means that we care for the tiger as well as the humans,” Mohanraj said.

An expert committee comprising the chief wildlife warden of Rajasthan and representatives from NTCA will be meeting in April to deliberate over Ustad’s health and adaptability to wild.