KARACHI, March 20: A golden tabby tigress brought with its mate to the Safari Park more than a week ago in a controversial ‘animal exchange’ deal died on Wednesday, sources told Dawn.

The exotic big cat, according to the sources, died because of improper handling by Safari staff, who reportedly kept the animals, brought from Lahore, in a small dark concrete room for four days. The staff was waiting for an official opening of the tiger enclosure by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator.

No official was available for comments.

The sources said the KMC chief had instituted an inquiry into the case and suspended two top Safari officials, one of them being an additional director serving as a veterinary surgeon.

The Safari Park had acquired the golden tabby tiger pair from a Lahore-based ‘party’ without the mandatory permission of the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD).

The park administration had also refused to share with the media any details of what they called ‘an exchange deal’ which helped them acquire the exotic big cats by giving away some ‘surplus animals’.

The Safari officials violated provincial wildlife rules again recently when they secretly gave a number of ‘surplus’ animals, including camels, horses and spotted deer, in an ‘exchange’.

The spotted deer are protected under wildlife rules, while verification is required from the wildlife department for transferring camel and horses to other provinces.

The Safari Park had also acquired a pair of chimps in what officials described as a ‘donation’ without seeking information about the conservation status of the species and looking into the credentials of the ‘donor’.

Both species of chimpanzee, the common chimpanzee and the bonobo, are listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. They are also listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The animals are caged in the Safari Park contrary to international practices.

According to the sources, a case of sudden death of newly acquired animals also occurred last year when a puma died within three weeks of its arrival in the zoo. The surviving animal, the sources said, was replaced by another puma pair. It was done to avoid ‘bad publicity’ as the zoo was in the limelight at that time on account of the newly purchased pairs of Bengal tigers and white lions.

SWD warns Safari The SWD has warned the Safari Park administration of legal action if it does not provide details of all animals which are either ‘exchanged’ or imported into Sindh, sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

In a letter (dated March 18, 2013) written to the director of the Safari Park, conservator of wildlife Sindh, Hussain Bux Bhaagat, states: “It has been reported in a section of the press that you have exchanged wild animals with a Lahore-based private party. In this regard, you are informed that section 12 (1) (2) of Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972 clearly mentions that no person shall import or attempt to import to Sindh any wild animal or an endemic or exotic species or any trophy or meat of a kind specified in sub section (1) of section 10 except under an import permit granted under this ordinance.

“Accordingly, import of wild animals, that is, golden tabby tigers, from Lahore (Punjab) to Karachi (Sindh) without the lawful permission of SWD is the violation of Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972.”

Requesting for details on all such animals, which are either ‘exchanged’ or imported into Sindh, the conservator says: “Your non-cooperation will be treated as confession of violation of Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972 and could lead to a legal action against your organisation.”