White tiger cub found dead at zoo in southern Romania after swallowing plastic bag

A white tiger cub at the Craiova Zoo, in southern Romania, died after allegedly swallowing a plastic bag thrown by one of the visitors.

The tiger cubs were brought to Craiova Zoo in May, but one of them had not been seen for several weeks. The Zoo did not acknowledge the death until Monday, December 29, even though the cub had died more than two weeks earlier.

“The cause is the accidental ingestion of plastic packaging thrown by some visitors into the enclosure. At Craiova Zoo, information and warning panels are placed, asking visitors not to feed the animals, as this represents a real danger to the health of the animals,” said the local authorities, cited by Digi24.

The white Bengal tiger is a rare and endangered subspecies, included on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

A similar situation occurred at Craiova Zoo in the spring of this year when a deer died. The animal allegedly died, according to representatives of the local agency ECO Urbis, after swallowing plastic packaging thrown by visitors. In this case as well, the incident was discovered after images of the deceased animal appeared on social media, and authorities opened an investigation to find those responsible.

A petition to close the Craiova Zoo has so far gathered over 1,500 signatures. Initiators say the facility does not offer the animals the proper level of care required by European legislation.

(Photo source: Boaz Yunior Wibowo | Dreamstime.com)