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NAGPUR, India – Officials say a seven-month-old wild tiger died Tuesday in a central Indian zoo, two days after veterinarians tried to save the cub with a rare blood transfusion.
The cub, which doctors named Juhi after a fragrant white flower native to India, had shown signs of improvement, but suddenly went into convulsions Tuesday.
Veterinarians gave her a blood transfusion believing it was the only way to save the cub after her hemoglobin levels had dropped to dangerously low levels.
Juhi and her sister, Jai, had been rescued from angry villagers who had tried to kill the cats, fearing they would attack children and cattle.
Jai responded well to treatment, but Juhi's condition continued to deteriorate.
India's wild tiger population has plummeted to some 1,500 – down from about 3,600 six years ago and an estimated 100,000 a century ago.
Shrinking habitats have brought the wild cats into conflict with farmers and poachers who kill them for pelts and body parts, highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine.
