04 December,2025 07:02 PM IST | Mumbai | Eshanpriya MS
Thee BMC had earlier confirmed that Shakti (above) died from respiratory failure. File Pic/Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo
Weeks after the death of Byculla Zoo's 9-year-old Royal Bengal tiger named Shakti on November 17, it has come to light that yet another tiger had died at Byculla Zoo in Mumbai --its 3-year-old male Royal Bengal tiger named Rudra -- on 29 October 2025, officials said.
According to information from the Byculla Zoo authorities, Rudra was born with Trypanosoma and was extremely weak at birth. Over the past three years, various treatments were administered to Rudra, who succumbed to his illness on October 29, before the death of Shakti. Rudra was the cub born to Shakti and Karishma.
On February 2020, the pair of Royal Bengal tigers - Shakti (male) and Karishma (female) - were brought to the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo in Byculla from the Siddhartha Garden and Zoo in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
In a statement issued on November 26, the BMC confirmed that Shakti died from respiratory failure due to pneumonia, refuting reports circulating on social media that Shakti died because of a bone stuck in his respiratory tract during a meal. However, the announcement did not mention the earlier death of another tiger at the zoo.
When asked, an official from the zoo said, "We are awaiting the report on the cause of death. It is being confirmed by the Mumbai Veterinary College (Parel), and hence no statement was made at the same time as the statement about Shakti's death."
The zoo at present has two tigers, Karishma and her cub Jay.
