15 missing baby crocodiles found dead at Chhatbir zoo

Fifteen baby crocodiles that had gone missing a couple of weeks ago from the Chhatbir Zoological Park were found dead on Monday. The crocodiles were born in the zoo on June 7. Officials said the babies went missing one after the other within a couple of days. The zoo authorities constituted a team of three officials to look into the matter. Initially it was suspected that the lone male crocodile in the zoo could have eaten the babies,but after noticing that one of the missing crocodiles was back inside the fence,officials suspected the crocodiles might have hibernated in the sand. Arrangements were made to screen the sand heaps with a hope to trace the crocodiles.

On September 16,the pond was emptied,but the babies could not be found. Subsequently,a team,comprising the deputy director,senior veterinary doctor and a veterinary doctor,was constituted to search the babies. The team screened the sand lumps thoroughly and found the bodies on Monday. One of the bodies was found near a hole in a wall.

Another Jaguar dies
The Chhatbir zoo lost another jaguar on Monday morning. Zoo authorities said the exotic male carnivore was 21-years-old and died due to old age complications. On September 8,a seven-year-old female jaguar had died.

Born in the zoo,the male jaguar was ill for the last several days and did not eat properly. On Monday,the zookeepers found dead in its cage. Postmortem revealed the jaguar died of multi-organ failure due to the old age. The average life span of a jaguar is between 18-20 years,and this one lived its full life,said zoo Field Director Charchil Kumar.