{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "India's Oldest Tigress Mahek Turns 23 in Kota, Placed Under Specialized Medical Care",
  "summary": "Mahek, India's oldest tigress residing at Abheda Biological Park in Kota, has crossed 22 years and entered her 23rd year, moving from the visitor display to an assisted night shelter due to age-related frailty.",
  "content": "Mahek, recognized as the oldest living tigress in India, has officially stepped into her 23rd year at Abheda Biological Park in Kota, Rajasthan. Once admired by park visitors for her commanding presence and majestic walk, the elderly big cat is now showing pronounced signs of advanced physical aging. Severe weakness has developed across her hindquarters, causing her balance to waver and making simple movement a struggle. To safeguard her against dangerous falls and physical trauma, park officials made the decision to withdraw her from the outdoor public display enclosure. She now rests under continuous medical monitoring led by a specialized team of veterinarians.\n\nPadded Enclosures and Temperature Control for Daily Comfort\nWith her withdrawal from the public viewing space, Mahek's immediate world is now confined to her protected night shelter and adjoining kraal area. Management has prioritized physical ease and pressure relief by lining the concrete floors with thick mattresses, ensuring she can rest and recline without straining stiff joints. Sanitization protocols across the enclosure have been intensified to ward off infections. Furthermore, as winter approaches, electric heaters are slated for installation to protect her from sharp temperature drops. Park authorities emphasize that her well-being, safety, and physical ease have completely superseded any tourist attraction value.\n\nRestructured Meal Plan and Joint Supplements\nRecognizing the decline in her digestive capacity, veterinarians have thoroughly redesigned Mahek's daily dietary routine. Rather than offering one heavy daily meal, keepers now serve three smaller portions distributed across the day. Her morning menu consists of boiled chicken, followed in the afternoon by boiled eggs and nutritious warm soup, while fresh meat is offered during the evening hours. To preserve metabolic health, her diet is fortified with prebiotics and probiotics along with supportive liver tonics and joint care supplements. When winter conditions intensify, caretakers prepare to increase the overall proportion of chicken in her meals.\n\nA Long Journey Marked by Lost Companions\nBorn on August 28, 2004, at the Nahargarh Biological Park in Jaipur, Mahek entered life alongside a twin sister named Rambha. While both sisters spent their formative years together, Rambha passed away earlier. More recently, in August 2024, Mahek's long-time male companion, a tiger named Nahar, succumbed to old age at roughly 18 years. Following Nahar's demise, Mahek remains the solitary veteran big cat housed inside the Abheda facility.\n\nLongevity Benchmarks and DNA Research Prospects\nBy crossing 22 full years, Mahek has outlived several of the country's most celebrated felines. Ranthambore's famous tigress Machhli and Guwahati's Swati each reached approximately 20 years of age before their deaths. Within India, the national longevity record for a captive tiger belongs to Raja from West Bengal, who lived to an impressive 25 years and 10 months. Globally, the Guinness World Record for the oldest documented tigress is held by Bengali in the United States, who attained 25 years and 319 days. Mahek's exceptional lifespan has caught the interest of conservation scientists and genetic researchers, who plan to investigate her DNA profile, nutritional patterns, and lifetime habits to uncover what supports feline longevity. For the veterinary staff on site, however, the immediate goal remains ensuring that her remaining days are spent in comfort, warmth, and dignified peace.\n\nWhat this means for you\nVisitors to Kota's Abheda Biological Park will no longer be able to view India's oldest tigress Mahek, as she has been permanently relocated to an assisted shelter.\n\n• Across India: The move reflects rising standards in humane geriatric management for captive wild animals across Indian zoological parks. It offers wildlife enthusiasts and veterinarians valuable documentation on caring for big cats entering their third decade of life.\n• In Kota: Tourists visiting the biological park will find Mahek absent from public display areas. Visitors can still view other exhibits while caretakers direct their attention toward maintaining Mahek's medical comfort.\n• For researchers: Scientists gain a rare opportunity to evaluate genetic markers and dietary impacts on big cat lifespan. The planned studies could aid future zoological protocols for managing geriatric tigers across India.\n\nWhy this happened\nThe decision to retire tigress Mahek from the open exhibition yard stemmed directly from severe hindquarter frailty and elevated risks of physical injury.\n\n• Physical frailty: Crossing 22 years of age caused severe muscular decline in Mahek's rear limbs and back. This decline disrupted her balance and made regular walking painful and precarious.\n• Fall prevention: In the open display enclosure, natural uneven terrain posed a constant hazard of sudden falls and fractures. Shifting her into a monitored indoor pen eliminated these environmental threats.\n• Nutritional demands: A slowed geriatric metabolism required dividing her meals into three soft, digestible portions throughout the day, an arrangement only feasible inside controlled isolation quarters.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. What is the current age of tigress Mahek?\nMahek has completed 22 years of age and is currently in her 23rd year.\n\n2. Why was Mahek removed from the public display area?\nSevere hindquarter weakness led to balance issues and high risks of falling, prompting officials to move her to safety.\n\n3. When and where was Mahek born?\nShe was born on August 28, 2004, at Nahargarh Biological Park in Jaipur.\n\n4. What dietary regimen is being provided to her currently?\nShe receives three daily meals including boiled chicken in the morning, eggs and soup in the afternoon, and meat in the evening along with digestive aids.\n\n5. Who holds the record for India's longest-lived tiger?\nA male tiger named Raja from West Bengal lived to the age of 25 years and 10 months.\n\n6. Which tigress holds the Guinness World Record for maximum lifespan?\nBengali, a tigress in the United States, holds the Guinness World Record after living for 25 years and 319 days.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/rajasthan/kota-men-desha-ki-sabase-bujurga-baghina-mahek-23ven-sala-men-doktaron-ki-khasa-nigarani-men-shuru-hui-vishesha-keyara-55765",
  "category": "Rajasthan",
  "publishedAt": "2026-11-03",
  "tags": [
    "Tigress Mahek",
    "Abheda Biological Park",
    "Kota",
    "Rajasthan Forest Department",
    "Wildlife Conservation",
    "Tiger Longevity"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia",
  "whatItMeansForYou": "Visitors to Kota's Abheda Biological Park will no longer be able to view India's oldest tigress Mahek, as she has been permanently relocated to an assisted shelter.\n\n• Across India: The move reflects rising standards in humane geriatric management for captive wild animals across Indian zoological parks. It offers wildlife enthusiasts and veterinarians valuable documentation on caring for big cats entering their third decade of life.\n• In Kota: Tourists visiting the biological park will find Mahek absent from public display areas. Visitors can still view other exhibits while caretakers direct their attention toward maintaining Mahek's medical comfort.\n• For researchers: Scientists gain a rare opportunity to evaluate genetic markers and dietary impacts on big cat lifespan. The planned studies could aid future zoological protocols for managing geriatric tigers across India.",
  "whyItHappened": "The decision to retire tigress Mahek from the open exhibition yard stemmed directly from severe hindquarter frailty and elevated risks of physical injury.\n\n• Physical frailty: Crossing 22 years of age caused severe muscular decline in Mahek's rear limbs and back. This decline disrupted her balance and made regular walking painful and precarious.\n• Fall prevention: In the open display enclosure, natural uneven terrain posed a constant hazard of sudden falls and fractures. Shifting her into a monitored indoor pen eliminated these environmental threats.\n• Nutritional demands: A slowed geriatric metabolism required dividing her meals into three soft, digestible portions throughout the day, an arrangement only feasible inside controlled isolation quarters.",
  "questionsAndAnswers": [
    {
      "question": "What is the current age of tigress Mahek?",
      "answer": "Mahek has completed 22 years of age and is currently in her 23rd year."
    },
    {
      "question": "Why was Mahek removed from the public display area?",
      "answer": "Severe hindquarter weakness led to balance issues and high risks of falling, prompting officials to move her to safety."
    },
    {
      "question": "When and where was Mahek born?",
      "answer": "She was born on August 28, 2004, at Nahargarh Biological Park in Jaipur."
    },
    {
      "question": "What dietary regimen is being provided to her currently?",
      "answer": "She receives three daily meals including boiled chicken in the morning, eggs and soup in the afternoon, and meat in the evening along with digestive aids."
    },
    {
      "question": "Who holds the record for India's longest-lived tiger?",
      "answer": "A male tiger named Raja from West Bengal lived to the age of 25 years and 10 months."
    },
    {
      "question": "Which tigress holds the Guinness World Record for maximum lifespan?",
      "answer": "Bengali, a tigress in the United States, holds the Guinness World Record after living for 25 years and 319 days."
    }
  ]
}