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Tiger at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury dies
16:17, 04 March 2020
updated: 18:05, 04 March 2020
Staff at a Kent wildlife park have taken the heartbreaking decision to put down a beloved tiger due to old age.
Bengal tiger Delhi, who has died at the age of 21 at Howletts near Canterbury, was born at sister park Port Lympne to parents to Pindi and Harami in 1998.
He was one in a litter of three cubs, including male Calcutta and female Lahore.
Delhi lived at Port Lympne, near Hythe, with his brother for 19 years, before moving to Howletts in May 2017 to live with his sister after both siblings outlived their parents.
The team at the park conduct regular welfare checks on all animals, and Delhi was showing signs of mobility issues and began losing weight - despite continued efforts from keepers.
The veterinary team and carnivore keepers were forced to make the hard decision to euthanise the elderly tiger on Friday, February 28.
A typical lifespan of a wild tiger is around eight to 10 years.
"He will be greatly missed by his keepers and visitors alike..."
In captivity this can increase to 15 years and above, following a good diet, veterinary care, regular exercise and tailored carnivore supplements being given on feeds.
Animal manager Richard Barnes said: “Delhi was a fairly chilled out old boy, at least compared to his brother Calcutta who he lived with for about 19 years.
"One of the great, great, great, grandsons of the tigress Tara that started it all back in the late 50s.
"Tara was one of John Aspinall’s original tigers and her descendants were some of the first tigers many of us now at Port Lympne started working with.
"Delhi will be sadly missed."
Liam, head of carnivores added: “Delhi spent a lot of time scent marking, playing with enrichment and vocalising to any female tiger he got a sniff of.
"He made a huge impression on the team here and was a personal favourite of mine as he never failed to show his face when called and was always great to watch whenever challenged with new enrichment or feeds.
"He will be greatly missed by his keepers and visitors alike.”
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