KARACHI: Although nothing has emerged from the post-mortem reports of the two puma cubs that died within five days at the zoo, it is being suspected that the cubs might have died of an unknown viral infection, sources told Dawn.

They were sceptical about the survival of the remaining baby. The three babies were born two months ago.

“The puma cubs were healthy and active when I visited the zoo 20 days ago. The weather had, however, not turned as cold as it is now,” said Dr Isma Gheewala, a senior veterinarian who was part of the team that performed the autopsies of the babies.

According to her, both cubs had sudden death and nothing important had come out during their post-mortem that could be considered as the cause of their death.

“One of them had a slight lung infection and one could assume that it might have caused its death. But the other baby was perfectly normal,” she said.

The babies, she explained, might have died of an unknown viral infection that couldn’t be detected with the diagnostic equipment available in Pakistan.

She rejected the perception that the babies might have been killed by their mother and said: “She’s a good mother and there was no sign of injury or marks of suffocation on the babies’ bodies.”

The cubs, she said, hadn’t been vaccinated as they were yet to be of eight weeks.

According to Dr Gheewala, sudden deaths are common in animals with an apparent no obvious cause. “Our clinic is receiving such cases all the time. The baby is born healthy and is perfectly fine before it suddenly collapses and dies.”

At the zoo, the puma mother appeared sad as she remained motionless with her eyes wide open while being photographed for this report. The surviving baby was hiding behind her mother.

“We are a bit apprehensive now about the baby’s survival. It looks fine but the two others that have died were healthy, too,” said a zoo keeper.

Assistant zoo director Dr Aamir Ismail, however, said: “We are keeping our fingers crossed and taking the best care possible.”

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014