Tiger Masti fights for second lease of life

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Ten years after he was found roaming with a jaw trap in the jungles of Nagarhole, tiger Masti is now fighting second battle for his life, unable to bear his own weight on the hind legs.

Fifteen-year-old Masti is suffering from ‘hind quarter weakness’ and a team of wildlife veterinarians are keeping a close watch on the tiger. Masti is presently in the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) and has fathered 16 tigers there.

Park officials were a worried lot over the last few weeks after the tiger reduced its food intake by half. “Masti eats beef and chicken and his intake reduced to 6 kg from 12 kg average per day owing to illness. The tiger has only three legs and any weakness in the hind legs, even small in nature, compounds his problem,” explained Dr Arun A. Sha, Wildlife Veterinary Officer from Wildlife SOS Organisation.

However, Dr Arun added, “Masti’s illness is not life-threatening, but we are taking every care to see that the animal spends his later life peacefully. When Masti was first shifted to Bannerghatta zoo, he was allowed to mate with many tigresses in order to get offspring with wild gene.

But since the last one year we have stopped Masti from mating with any other tiger. On Thursday, the tiger had shown some improvement and his food intake too has improved,” Dr Arun added. Dr R. Raju, executive director of the Park, said that all necessary steps are initiated to review Masti’s health. “Besides doctors, the animal keepers from BBP are also keeping an eye on Masti’s health. The tiger is an asset to the park as far as wild gene is concerned,” Dr Raju added.

The tiger’s forelimb was removed after he was found with a jaw trap, causing imbalance to body.
But the wild beast continued to roar in captivity and has made Bannerghatta his home since the last five years. Since last April, the tiger is under the care of Wildlife SOS Organisations which also takes care of 100-odd sloth bears.