The Royal Bengal Tiger Shakti, a male tiger at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan & Zoo in Byculla, has died at the age of 9.6 years on November 17, 2025. Shakti had come to the Mumbai zoo along with another Royal Bengal Tiger, Karishma, from Siddharth Garden & Zoo in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on February 12, 2020, under an animal exchange programme.

Zoo officials said Shakti had not eaten on November 15 and was kept under veterinary observation, with medication given in water. On November 16, he ate a small amount of chicken and water but showed signs of retching. On November 17, while being moved into an inspection cage, Shakti suddenly convulsed and passed away around 12.15 pm.

“Prior to this incident, the tiger had never shown any signs of illness. Currently, the zoo has one male and one female tiger available for public display,” said a zoo official.

A team from the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Mumbai Veterinary College, conducted a postmortem on Shakti. The preliminary report identified pyogranulomatous pneumonia, which led to respiratory failure, as the primary cause of death. Postmortem tissue samples have also been sent to the Wildlife Research and Training Centre in Gorewada, Nagpur, for further analysis. Officials said a detailed report will be submitted once the complete findings are received.

As per zoo protocol, Shakti’s body was incinerated. Officials also clarified, “There have been incorrect news reports doing the rounds about the death of Tiger Shakti due to obstruction of the windpipe by a bone.” Detailed information about the tiger’s death was shared via email on November 18 with the Central Zoo Authority and the Maharashtra Zoo Authority.

Shakti’s sudden death has left zoo staff and animal lovers saddened. The zoo now has only one male and one female tiger available for public display.