LAHORE – A tiger tore another tiger apart at the Lahore Wildlife Park, it was learnt on Thursday. This was the second such incident at the safari park in less than three months. Earlier, a tigress had killed another tigress in Ramazan. The park built in the city outskirt along Raiwind Road is yet to be opened to public.Sources said the incident took place a few days ago when Moon, a tiger brought here from the Bahawalpur zoo, attacked and killed the tiger from the Lahore zoo, Jazba.
Though the animal behaviour is unpredictable, wildlife experts said the authorities had ignored the fact that Jazba had poor health and weak eyesight.
“Bringing him to a safari park and leaving him with healthy animals was always dangerous,” they said.
Punjab wildlife director-general Imtiaz Tajwar was on a visit to the park with his friends when the incident had taken place.
The sources said Jazba had been unlucky since his birth when his mother refused to feed him.
“This was a major cause of his poor health.”
He was removed to the safari park last year.
Confirming the incident, wildlife deputy director Shafqat said it took place a couple of weeks ago. He said the body of Jazba had been sent to the Lahore zoo taxidermist. He said that the safari park had been opened at that time to feed animals, adding the DG was on general inspection that day.
Answering a question, Shafqat said that the safari park had been closed to public. Opened earlier between April and July, he said it was closed due to irresponsible behaviour of some visitors. He said now the park had two pairs of tigers and five lions.
When contacted, the wildlife DG said the park would be inaugurated after a month and a half. He said the department was buying more equipment for the security of animals.
The Lahore Wildlife Park was established in 1982 and was handed over to the wildlife department in 1988 by the forest department. Currently, the park has black deer, chinkara deer, monkeys, lions, tigers and peacocks, he said.
The objective of the park is to house indigenous wildlife, captive breeding of important wild animals and birds and provide recreational facilities to local and foreign tourists, he said.
EARLIER INCIDENT: Sources said two tigresses — one from Model Town (owned by a local trader) and the other from the Okara military farms - had been brought to the safari park for breeding. “The tigress owned by the military went into a fight straightaway when it was released into the park and killed the tigress from the Model Town,” the sources said.