Shaking roars: Big cat rescued from Sunderbans dies of old age at Jharkhali centre
Telegraph | 18 March 2025
A tiger died at a rescue centre in Jharkhali in South 24-Parganas, a gateway to the Sunderbans, on Saturday.
The big cat, a male aged approximately 21, died of old age. But it was the end of a second life that the tiger got, said foresters.
The tiger was found on an island — frail, infirm and too weak to hunt — inside the Sundarban Tiger Reserve in 2013, said a retired forest official.
It was rescued by forest personnel and brought to the Alipore zoo for treatment.
“I remember the tiger was in a very bad shape. The right eye was damaged in an injury, possibly caused by deer antlers or infighting or the sharp aerial roots of mangroves in the delta. It was unable to hunt because of the injury. It was in such bad shape that we did not expect it to survive,” said Kanailal Ghosh, a former director of the zoo.
The tiger responded to treatment. It showed significant improvement after three months.
“It was injured, but a Sunderbans tiger nonetheless. A fortnight after it was brought to the zoo, it began letting out powerful roars that were heard by guests at the Taj Bengal,” said Ghosh.
The tiger was named Sohan.
When the Jharkhali Tiger Rescue Centre opened in 2014, a pair of tigers — a female and Sohan — were sent there. The centre, officially known as the Sundarban Wild Animal Park, is the only mangrove zoo in Bengal.
“Sohan could not be released in the wild because of the impaired vision. He would not have been able to hunt,” said a forest official.
“With time, his other eye also started having problems. But he lived a long life,” said an official of the South 24-Parganas forest division.