One of the oldest Bengal Tiger Raja dies at 25
Death of State’s Oldest Royal Bengal at Age 25 Receives Funeral Fit For A Raja.
JALPAIGURI: The King has passed away; long live the monarch! At 25 years and 10 months old, Raja was one of the country’s oldest tigers still alive when he passed away on Monday in a rescue facility in north Bengal. Senior authorities from the district and forest administration, as well as several zoo employees, lined up to pay respects.
Bengal tigers generally live between 12 and 13 years in the wild and up to 15 to 16 years in captivity. Raja was about 11 years old when he was transported to the Khairbari Royal Bengal Tiger Rehabilitation and Research Center in Alipur’s Madarihat. He had sustained more than 10 injuries to his body at the time during a struggle with a saltwater crocodile in the arid Sunderbans.
According to Chief Forest Conservator Rajendra Jakhar, “He was about 11 when brought here” (wildlife, north Bengal). He continued to live here for a further 15 years, making him one of the nation’s longest living tigers, Jakhar continued.
Guddu, a tiger that lived in the Kanpur zoo and was 26 years old when he passed away in 2014, was the oldest tiger in India in recent memory. Ramu, a 24-year-old tiger, passed away from cardiac arrest in the Jaipur Zoo in 2010. Rongini, a 24-year-old ‘tigon’ (a cross between a male tiger and a female lion), had previously passed away in Kolkata’s Alipore Zoo.
Expressing my deep condolence for the sad demise of our beloved 'Raja'the 25 years and 8 months old Royal Bengal Tiger.The story of the Raja's survival, and his long survival outside his homeland,will be a memorable example in the history of the conservation of the @ForestDeptWB pic.twitter.com/222gHWsgUW
— JYOTIPRIYA MALLICK (@JyotipriyaMLA) July 11, 2022
14 years ago, Raja escaped a crocodile attack.
According to a senior forest official, Raja’s 25th birthday was lavishly celebrated at the Khairbari Royal Bengal Tiger Rehabilitation and Research Centre last year by the state forest department and state zoo authorities.
Surendra Kumar Meena, the district magistrate for Alipurduar, Dipak M, the divisional forest officer (DFO) for wildlife in Jaldapara, and other officers from the forest service and the state zoo authority lined up to pay respects by placing wreaths of tuberoses and marigolds at the big cat’s final resting place when Raja passed away on Monday. According to the Directorate of Forests, West Bengal, “The success story of Raja will always be regarded as one of the greatest and rarest examples of ex-situ conservation in history.”
