In an incident of planned crossbreeding going tragically wrong, a four-year-old male white tiger died of head injuries after a Bengal tigress attacked him when they were left in a free yard at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalurin Chennai.
Incidentally, Sembian was one of three white tigers named by former chief minister M Karunanidhi in 2010. There is a total of 11 white tigers and eight Bengal tigers at the zoo.
Officials said the attempt at crossbreeding was made as white tigers were genetically weak because of their tendency to inbreed. This was the second attempt to crossbreed tigers at Anna zoo. The first attempt about a year ago was successful and three female cubs were born to two white tigresses.
Before letting tigers breed, the two big cats are left in a controlled environment for a month for them to become familiar with each other. “They get used to each other’s smells. When in heat, both the male and female attempt to attract each other. Once we find they are compatible, we leave them in the free yard for mating,” an official explained. However, officials admitted that despite conducting a detailed compatibility study between the male white tiger Sembian and Bengal tigress Sathya (7), before leaving the two for mating, the animals fought with each other.
Zoo officials had left Sembian and Sathya for mating in an open yard when the two attacked each other. Both sustained severe injuries and while veterinarians were able to save Sathya, Sembian suffered internal head injuries and died of concussion.
“When tigers mate, the female has to bear a lot of pain. Females usually handle it, but at times, they attack the male, which was what happened in this case,” a zoo official said. A post-mortem would be conducted on the carcass, after which it would be cremated.
