Death of popular animals in Vandalur a cause for concern

CHENNAI: One of the lion cubs christened by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami about three months ago, died at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, after developing health complications, said zoo officials. According to them, the cub named Dhakshina was unwell for a few days and succumbed to the ailment on October 23 despite providing good care.

The one-year-old was among the three lion cubs and four tiger cubs named by the CM in August. Palaniswami had named three lion cubs born to Siva and Neela as Dhakshina, Niranjana, and Pradeep, while the four tiger cubs were named Nagula, Mithra, Venmathi and Rithwik in a widely-covered event on August 10. Among the nearly 30 large carnivores at the zoological park, those animals named by State leaders are a special attraction, as they are known to the public and are often the most sought after by visitors, said zoo sources. “It is a setback when we lose such popular animals,” the official added.

Some of the popular animals at the zoo that were known to the public by their name include Tuntun, the chimpanzee brought from Singapore zoo; Soundarya, the hippopotamus which was named by the late actor Soundarya; Mani, an Indian Gaur, and Bheeshmar and Anu, the first white tiger pair acquired from Delhi zoo.

The late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran is said to have introduced the practice of naming animals. It was popularised by the late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who named three white tiger cubs Sembian, Indira and Valli. It was made into a routine affair by his successor J Jayalalithaa, who named 17 animals during her tenure. In 2015, months before her death, Jayalalithaa named four white tiger cubs Anitha, Preetha, Sunitha and Sangeetha.

When asked whether the animals named by leaders are given special preference, deputy director of the zoo, Sudha Ramen said, “The zoo has over 3,000 animals. We have strong team of veterinary experts who take good care of all animals irrespective of who named them.” Meanwhile, a spotted deer was fatally run over by an EMU near Guindy railway station on Thursday. GRP sources said that the incident took place around 9 am.