The only white tigress of Bhopals Van Vihar National Park died on Thursday, 15-year-old tigress Riddhi was reportedly unwell and had not eaten for the past two days. Riddhi was brought to Van Vihar from Indore Zoo on December 28, 2013 at the age of 4. Since then she was the center of attraction for tourists in Van Vihar. Tourists used to come especially to see the white tigress. She was kept in the display ward in Van Vihar. She was brought to Van Vihar from Indore Zoo under the exchange scheme. Siddhi was the only white tiger in Van Vihar. Now there are 15 tigers in Van Vihar. White tigress Riddhi died on the night of September 18. She was found lying in her house on Thursday morning. Wildlife doctor Dr. Atul Gupta examined her and she was declared dead. Earlier on Wednesday, she was in normal condition in her housing. According to the Van Vihar management, Riddhi had not taken her regular food for the last 2 days. However, she normally does this often. The postmortem of the tigress was done jointly by Van Vihars wildlife doctor Dr. Atul Gupta, assistant wildlife doctor Dr. Hamza Nadeem Farooqui, Wildlife SOS Dr. Rajat Kulkarni. The cause of death was found to be internal organ failure due to old age. Samples of the dead white tigress have been collected and sent to the School of Wildlife Forensic Health Jabalpur for testing. After postmortem, the dead tigress was cremated as per rules in Van Vihar National Park in the presence of Forest Conservator Bhopal Circle Bhopal, Director Van Vihar and other officers and employees. Van Vihar Deputy Director SK Sinha said that there are now 15 tigers left in Van Vihar. Generally, the lifespan of a healthy tiger living in the forest is 12 to 13 years. In the zoo, their lifespan is 15-16 years. In such a situation, Riddhi lived well. However, white tigers are not very healthy. They are white due to a change in their genes.

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