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| Raja ki pehli pasand ‘ chicken’ | | | Jammu, April 29—
21 year old leopard popularly known as ‘Raja of Manda Deer Park’ located on the outskirts of Jammu city has now started relishing chicken and has stopped taking mutton following certain physiological changes owing to old age.
And every time caretakers looking after six leopards housed in different enclosures in the deer park raise an alarm at the time of feeding them Raja’s eyes start blinking as he eagerly awaits his plateful of chicken twice a day while resting.
Till a year ago Raja would relish munching pieces of
mutton.It now refuses to eat mutton and survives
only on chicken, officials at the Manda deer Park said. According to regional wildlife warden, Nasir Ahmed Kichloo, ”Raja’s teeth have gone weak. It cannot munch with ease pieces of mutton. Hence it has started relishing only chicken.” Raja is given one Kg of chicken twice a day,he informed.
Om prakash one of the caretakers who is responsible fortheiur upkeep said “Raja has now started shown signs of aging.”
He said “till a year ago Raja was seen jumping, roaring
while trying to scale the wired enclosure. It has stopped doing it.”
Raja along with a female cub had been rescued from a
nearby forest belt in 1985.Since then Raja has lived
like a prince. He mated with two she leopards who gave
birth to 10 cubs.
Seven of them including one wife of Raja have died in recent years. Referring to restrictions on mating and problems faced by Manda Deer park authorities, Om Prakash said “since Raja
is ageing we are in the look out for cubs from the adjoining forest belts because within next five to seven years Raja and other leopards of its age may die because the upper age limit for a leopard is not more than 27 years. Kichloo said “after Raja and other leopards are dead we will allow mating to
keep the leopard population intact in the park.”
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