Bhubaneswar: Nandankanan Zoological Park here on Thursday lost a female sloth bear named Mili.
According to zoo authorities, the 16-year-old animal was found dead in an isolated feed chamber this morning. It had been sick since long due to progressive emaciation.
The authorities said the bear was under treatment for loss of appetite and reduced weight due to suspected TB. It was being administered parental antibiotic oral multi-vitamin and liver tonic in a separate cell, isolated from other animals in the zoo.
The postmortem will be carried out by experts from College of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry in the afternoon to know the exact cause of the death, the authorities added.
Mili was born in the zoo on October 23, 2001, to a bear named Savitri. Following its death, Nandankanan is left with 11 male and five female sloth bears.