Kolkata: From taking over the Sundarbans to fighting crocodiles and terrorizing leopards, the king’s life turned bright and furious. But the oldest Royal Bengal tiger in captivity died on Monday at 25 years and 10 months, leaving behind a legacy of survival and adaptation.
“Everyone was afraid of the king because of how majestic he was. On the roar of the king, even the leopards in the nearby enclosure did not eat for many days. But the king was happiest when he took a bath for me. He came from the forest, and his love for water was unparalleled. He used to take bath 4-5 times a day,” said wildlife protector and Partha Sarathi Sinha, who looked after him.
Sad to learn that the world’s oldest living tiger king in captivity is no more.
As the pride of India, which lived for more than 25 years, the king will be greatly missed. pic.twitter.com/Fzat3ilrxG
— Bhupendra Yadav (@byadavbjp) 11 July 2022
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Arrival at rescue center
In May 2008, while crossing the Matla River in the Sundarbans, Raja got into a field fight with a crocodile and lost a part of his left leg. He was taken to Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, where he was treated and named Raja. Three months later, he was shifted to the South Khairbari Rescue Centre.
He had 16 wounds that had not yet healed and was unable to walk when he first arrived at the rehabilitation center. Dr Pralay Mandal and Sinha took care of him. “Raja could not run away. Whenever he tried, he would fall. Seeing him trying to fight back brought tears to my eyes,” said Sinha.
There were 19 tigers in the rehabilitation center when Raja arrived. As the months passed, some died and others were picked up by the zoos, but Raja remained the King of the South Khairbari Rescue Centre.
From freedom in the wild to life in resettlement with limited movement—it was a big change for the big cat, who, according to Sinha, hated people. “He would sit inside his enclosure and would not come out until I came to him with his food.”
The king’s diet consisted of 8 kg of beef every day, except on Thursdays, when he fasted. It took him nine months to gather the strength to stand up again. This would not have been possible though, without the dedicated forest officers who were always with him. “The first winter was tough. He came from the Sundarbans, which was not as cold as here in North Bengal. I would sit near him all night and burn firewood. It took him three winters to get used to,” Sinha said.
Monsoon was also bad. There was always the danger of getting insects in his injured leg. But his caregivers cleaned and bandaged it every day.
The relationship between Raja and Sinha deepened over the years. “The only regret I will have till my last breath is that I did not get to see the king before his last journey.” He has been training since May and was away from the tiger at the time of Raja’s death.
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Lessons from the life of the king
Wildlife expert, Col (retd) Shakti Banerjee said Raja’s survival was “definitely amazing” but he should encourage the forest department to protect the animals in their natural habitat rather than in closed spaces.
“You see, Raja was being looked after in a safe place, which means he was being fed on time. He had a caretaker; If he was unwell, a vet would examine him. But the real challenge before us is to ensure that tigers survive in their natural habitat. Though the number of tigers is increasing in the country, their habitat needs to be protected with topmost priority,” said Banerjee, who is also the honorary director of the Wildlife Conservation Society of India.
According to former IFS officer Ravi Kant Sinha, who was the Chief Wildlife Warden of West Bengal, a tiger can live anywhere between 11-18 years in the wild because as it grows old, it hunts for survival. can’t. He also underlined the importance of habitat conservation. “We are losing natural habitat very quickly. Reviving wild habitats for animals is a big challenge,” said Sinha, the official.
Sunderbans region of West Bengal has been notorious for incidents of human-animal conflict In the last few years. But Sinha insists that there are two sides to the conflict. “In the last 50 years, there has not been any incident where a tiger has gone out of the forest area to kill a human. Every time someone is killed by a tiger, it is because they were in the tiger habitat,” he said.
Wildlife experts hope King’s life will inspire more concerted efforts to save dwindling wildlife habitats.
(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)