Cancer kills 13-year-old jaguar

National Zoological Gardens Director Anurudda Silva said today a 13-year-old Jaguar had died at the Dehiwala Zoo yesterday. The postmortem report revealed that the animal had died of cancer.
 
Mr. Silva said the jaguar had refused its meals for about two days prior to its death.
 
The average lifespan of a jaguar in the natural habitat is 17 years while it is known to live for up to 20 years under Zoo conditions.
 
The Zoo is now left with a 15-year-old jaguar.
 
Mr. Silva said the Zoo Department was planning to obtain a male and a female jaguar from a zoo in the Czech Republic. (Chaturanga Pradeep)



Pix by H.M. Dharmapala