LAHORE, April 17: A five-year old white zoo tigress, belonging to a rare breed called Bengal Tigers, underwent CT scan for brain tumour at the Shaukat Khanum Research Centre on Thursday.

Doctors told Dawn after the test that no tumour was detected in the brain of the big cat named Brita.

Dr Najmuddin, who examined the tigress, said after finalizing the report that “there is nothing serious in Brita’s CT scan report.”

The Lahore zoo authorities had detected about a month ago that the tigress was having fits. WWF official Uzma Khan told this reporter that the veterinary doctors at home and abroad had been consulted to determine the cause of Brita’s illness after the zoo management found it suffering from fits.

“They had earlier suggested that the illness might have been caused by epilepsy or some genetic disease or a brain tumour. Later, they recommended CT scan for determining the real cause of its illness,” Ms Khan said.

Dr Najmuddin, however, did not say whether Brita suffered epilepsy or any genetic disease or ordinary fits.

Zoo veterinarian Dr Waseem, who collected the CT scan report from the centre, refused to give details when this reporter contacted him.

Meanwhile, the tigress was shifted back to the zoo and is being kept under constant observation of the doctors.

Ms Khan said Brita belonged to an endangered breed of tigers, which was also on the red data list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. She said only 100 Bengal tigers were left in the world, but they were not being properly taken care of. Seven of them were in the Lahore zoo, she added.

According to the WWF officials, the zoo authorities had put up at least three tigers in one cage, though, they liked to live alone. They said Brita’s illness might have some link with her living together.

Dr Waseem admitted that a tiger should be kept ideally in one cage. He, however, claimed that the zoo administration was considering to increase the number of cages so that the animals could be given more care.