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After snake bite, Basanti roars back to life

The credit, however, must be given to the forest department officials who quickly swept into action after receiving the news

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Basanti sits in her cage at SGNP
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Basanti was bound to live. Even though the 15-year-old Royal Bengal Tiger at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) was bitten by a snake last month, it survived. The credit, however, must be given to the forest department officials who quickly swept into action after receiving the news.

According to Shailesh Deore, Superintendent of the Lion and Tiger Safari, the big cat was in its secondary cage when it was bitten by the snake on October 26, around 5 pm. The incident took place just after the last tourist bus had left that day after seeing Basanti. Reportedly, the big cat was fine till the visitors left.

"The animal-keeper opened the primary cage where the tigers return for being fed and rest during the night. The tigress had been profusely salivating even her gait had lacked in unco-ordination. The animal had somehow managed to enter the primary cage and collapsed on the floor. The cage-keeper alerted us immediately. We rushed to the cage and informed Dr Manish Pingle, a consulting veterinarian," he said.

Seeing the animal writhing in pain, Pingle said the symptoms were clear that tigress was bitten by a snake and that the venom was neurotoxic.

"The first thing we did was giving Basanti a universal antidote, a life-saving drug. Later, we put her on fluids to ensure that she could flush out the toxin. Basanti had even lost her vision by then. We were worried as she was not responding to the treatment initially," said the Vet, adding that it was only after 24 hours that Basanti started responding to the medicines.

According to Deore, who along with Pingle and other staff, spent three nights in the treatment cage area where Basanti was kept. The animal started eating from the second day itself and, by October 30, 90 percent of her vision was restored, he added.

"We are happy that she is hale and hearty. However, we are keeping a close watch on her and conducting regular tests," he said.

"According to test reports, Basanti was bitten by a snake when she was in the open Safari. However, we did not find any bite mark on his body. It is possible that Basanti was bitten in the tongue while it tried to eat or fight with the reptile," said chief conservator of forest (CCF) and director of SGNP, Anwar Ahmed.

Veterinary Officer for SGNP Shailesh Pethe said the team of Vets handled the situation very well. "Her vision is slightly blurred. We are sure that it will be perfect by the weekend," he said.

There are six Royal Bengal Tigers, including Basanti and her cubs Yash, Anand and Laxmi along with Bijli and Mastani, at the reserve. They were brought from the Pench Tiger Sanctuary.

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