Indore zoo's oldest bear Sonu euthanized after long illness

INDORE: Sonu, the 33-year-old Himalayan bear suffering from paralysis, was put to death at Kamla Nehru Zoological Park on Saturday. This is the first case in the country, where an animal has been granted 'mercy' death.
The euthanasia was carried out amidst reverberating Geeta chants by 11 priests from Omkareshwar, who had specially came down to Indore zoo to bid adieu to Sonu with proper Hindu rituals.
With flowers in their hands, teary-eyed visitors and school children bid farewell to their favorite animal.
Kamla Nehru Zoological Park, Indore wrote a letter to Central Zoo Authority (CZA) four months ago seeking permission for mercy killing of Sonu owing to long illness.
Zoo in-charge, Uttam Yadav said, “Sonu was in pain due to paralysis and backbone problem from last two years and it was unbearable for us also to watch it suffer every passing day. Therefore we appealed CZA for mercy-killing and on Friday the CZA approved after examining the bear.”
Before putting him down to sleep, Sonu was given a ritual bath, he was fed with its favourite food and fruits, he was given gangajal (holy water). “Each and every animal in the zoo is a family, and it is always upsetting when any animal dies. Therefore Sonu being a family member, we decided to decorate its cage with flowers and follow proper Hindu rituals before saying goodbye,” lamented Yadav.
With a team of three veterinarians, the first injection was inserted at around 10.30 am and after 20 minutes it slept; later the bear was taken to a room and with intervals was given two injections to stop the functioning of its heart and brain. Around 1 pm Sonu was declared dead and later after getting permission from CZA it was buried in the zoo premises. “Normally zoo born animals are cremated, but we had requested CZA officials to bury the bear, so that later it body parts can be used for study in Vetenary College,” said Yadav.
Jeevan Dada who had been taking care of Sonu from last thirty years said, “Sonu was a joyful animal before its illness where children used to call it ‘chotu’. It was difficult for me to watch Sonu’s death, but it was important also as the bear was unable to move and used to cry loud in pain.”