Raja, one of India’s oldest tigers, passed away in the early hours of Monday at a rescue facility in north Bengal. He was 25 years and 10 months old.
According to Deepak M, divisional forest officer of Jaldapara, “He was one of the oldest tigers in India and was brought to the Khairabari Leopard Rescue Centre in Jaldapara in north Bengal in August 2008.”
According to information that is readily available, tigers often live up to 16 years in the wild and 28–30 years in captivity. Raja’s right hind limb was partially bit off by a crocodile, and it was sent to the rescue facility in north Bengal. The incident happened in the Sunderbans, the world’s largest mangrove delta and the habitat of the renowned Royal Bengal Tiger.
According to SK Meena, the district magistrate of Alipurduar, “It was almost 11 years old when it was bought to the South Khairbari rescue facility, and there it survived for another 15 years, making it one of the longest surviving tigers in the country.”
The Bengal tiger is an endangered species. The Bengal tiger’s largest population is found in West Bengal’s Sundarbans National Park. The densely forested delta of the Ganges River covers about 1,330 square kilometers (328,680 acres).
