Tata Steel Zoological Park is taking all necessary steps in an escalated manner to control spread of the disease Babesiosis which proved fatal for two female tigers recently, even as counter measures were in place.

Currently two affected cubs are on the road to recovery while other tigers, lions and leopards are exhibiting normal behavior and appetite and have been put under continuous observation as a precautionary measure.

While Tata Steel Zoological Park authorities are sparing no efforts on fronts to prevent any further occurrence of the disease, worthwhile to mention that a panel of experts from the field have been consulted and treatment as well as other prevention measures put in place as per best practices available on all fronts. The animal were under treatment in consultation with following experts in the field:

1. Dr A. B. Srivastav, Professor (Retd.) Jabalpur Veterinary College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
2. Dr Gaurav Srivastav, Veterinary Officer, Etawah Lion Safari, Uttar Pradesh
3. Dr B. M. Arora, Professor (Retd.), Centre for Wildlife, IVRI, Bareily, Uttar Pradesh
4. Dr M. Navin Kumar, Deputy Director (Retd.), Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, Telangana
5. Dr Nidhi Rajput, Associate Professor, School of Forensic & Wildlife Medicine, Jabalpur Veterinary College, Madhya Pradesh

• Regular fumigation of all feeding cells and outdoor enclosures of big cats & other zoo animals.
• Installation of flycatchers in all big cats in feeding cells.
• Regular monitoring of vector load in the zoo campus through JUSCO
• Daily consultation with national expert veterinarians on future management of the big cats.
• Central Zoo Authority has decided to depute a team of expert veterinarians from Institute of Animal Health & veterinary Biological, Kolkata to assist in containment of the disease.
• Samples from dead tigers have been sent to Dept. of Pathology, Ranchi veterinary College and Indian veterinary Research Institute for Pathological examination.
• As per advice received from PCCF (Wildlife), Jharkhand Forest Department, samples shall also be sent to College of Veterinary Science, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar.

Also worthwhile to mention that on March 16, 2018 all remaining tigers were injected with prophylactic dose for Babesiosis.

All reports regarding the medication done and recent tiger deaths was shared with Central Zoo Authority, Government of India; the Chief Wildlife Warden, Government of Jharkhand. Postmortem examination of dead tigers was carried out by team of Government veterinarians under supervision of the Divisional Forest Officer, Jamshedpur.

About Tata Steel
Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as on March 31, 2017. It is a geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Group recorded a consolidated turnover of US $18.12 billion (INR 117,420 crore) in FY17. Tata Steel Group is spread across five continents with an employee base of nearly 70,000 employees as of March 31, 2017. Tata Steel has been felicitated with several awards including the Deming Grand Prize for continuous improvement in 2012, Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant for 2015-16, ‘Greenco Platinum Rating’ by CII Green Building Council for environmental performance at Jamshedpur Works (2016), ‘Best Place To Work’ in the core sector (steel, oil, power and minerals) by Business Today (2017), ‘World’s Most Ethical Company’ award from the Ethisphere Institute (2018), among several others.

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