Bhubaneswar, May 30: A two-and-a-half-year-old male zebra, which had come as a gift from Israel, died at Nandankanan zoo here today.
The zebra had joined the zoo in 2015 and its death leaves Nandankanan with only one male zebra.
Divisional forest officer, Nandankanan, Jayant Das said: "A post-mortem of the zebra by a team of experts from OUAT's veterinary college revealed that the sudden death was caused by internal haemorrhage. The internal haemorrhage triggered a blood mass that led to congestion in several of its organs."
In 2016, the zebra had fallen ill and took 15-20 days to recover.
"The animal had suddenly stopped eating a few days ago and was undergoing treatment for the past two days. It died around 12noon today," said Das.
In 2015, four African lions and four zebras had been brought to Nandankanan from Israel's Tel Aviv zoo under an animal exchange programme. The four zebras included two males and two females.
Nandankan zoo director Sisir Acharya said: "The zebras that had come as gifts from Israel to various zoos in the country are facing serious health problems. We are getting reports of zebra deaths from other zoos as well. We are taking it seriously and trying to understand the reasons behind the deaths of these sensitive animals."
Acharya said: "We have now planned to bring another male and three female zebras. But we have to ensure that the animals we are bringing in do not have any diseases. It is possible that the zebras are facing health problems because of inbreeding."
Earlier, the attempt of the zoo authorities to increase its zebra population had received a jolt when a male zebra died in May 2012 after suffering an injury while mating. The zebra was brought from Chhatbir Zoo in Chandigarh in March 2012 under an animal exchange programme. The Nandankanan zoo had given Chandigarh a female zebra in exchange.
In another development, the Nandankanan zoo authorities have increased the entry fee for visitors from Rs 25 to Rs 40 for adults (above 12 years of age).
The authorities have also made it clear that no charge shall be levied for visiting the aquarium, walk-through aviary, using still cameras and for using water outlets and toilets inside the zoo.
