MP: ‘India’s oldest’ sloth bear dies in Bhopal zoo
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Bhopal: A 36-year-old male sloth bear died due to multi-organ failure at a zoo-cum-animal rescue center in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, an official said on Friday.
The bear, named Bablu, was the oldest bear currently kept in captivity in the country, said an official of an NGO that runs a bear rescue center at the zoo.
“Bablu died at the Van Vihar National Park-cum-Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Thursday,” veterinarian Dr Atul Gupta told PTI.
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He told that the bear had stopped eating three-four days ago. Assistant Director of the Facility S. He told that the average age of a bear in the forest is 25 to 30 years.
Neel Banerjee, press and communications officer of NGO Wildlife SOS, said that after the death of female bear Gulabo at the age of 40 in Van Vihar National Park in January 2022, Bablu was the oldest bear (in captivity) in the country.
“Bablu died at our bear rescue facility in Van Vihar,” he said, adding that his NGO works to save elephants, bears and leopards across India.
Bablu’s body was disposed of after post-mortem. The vital organs of his body have been sent to Wildlife Forensic and Health, Jabalpur.