In a rare veterinary intervention, authorities at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling carried out a high-risk yet necessary procedure to trim the overgrown claws of Samrat, a 20-year-old Royal Bengal Tiger whose failing health had rendered him immobile.
The ageing predator, once a symbol of dominance, had gradually lost his mobility. Over time, the claws on his front paws had grown excessively long, curling inward and painfully piercing his own flesh.
Faced with the tiger’s condition, zoo authorities decided to undertake the intricate claw-trimming process for the first time in nearly a decade. A specially designed cage was installed to safely restrain the animal, enabling veterinarians to carry out the procedure without using tranquilisers, which posed a severe risk to the elderly tiger’s life. The operation was successfully conducted last Saturday.
Samrat was brought to the Darjeeling Zoo as a young cub nearly 17 years ago and quickly became one of the facility’s most celebrated attractions.
However, the inevitable burden of time transformed the once-vigorous big cat into what caretakers describe as a resident of a “retirement enclosure.” For the past few years, he has been confined to a night shelter and a separate enclosure, no longer fit for public safari display. His declining physical condition had reached a stage where he had to be hand-fed by keepers.
The state of Samrat’s paws prompted zoo director Arun Kumar Mukherjee to initiate medical intervention. Following consultations, veterinary experts from the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata were brought in to assist with the procedure. Veterinarian Prolay Mondal travelled from Kolkata to lead the operation alongside Darjeeling Zoo’s veterinary team.
“Given Samrat’s health, sedation was ruled out as a potentially fatal option. Instead, the cage was used to immobilise the tiger, allowing veterinarians to carefully trim the claws. After removal, the claws were cauterised to prevent further complications. Samrat appeared visibly relieved following the procedure and is currently under close veterinary observation,” said a zoo official.
Mukherjee said the tiger’s claws had remained untrimmed for nearly ten years and had grown so severely that they resembled thorns digging into his paws. He added that tranquilising such an elderly tiger could have been dangerously counterproductive, making the squeeze cage the safest alternative.
Samrat’s distressing condition has also prompted the zoo administration to adopt stricter preventive measures for other captive tigers. Keepers and veterinary staff have been instructed to conduct regular claw inspections and trimming to avoid similar health complications in the future.
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