The Mysuru zoo authorities are seeking help from Forensic Science Laboratory for conclusive evidence of the cause of death of Mirella, a 26-year old chimpanzee. The authorities are suspecting foul play in the death.
After suffering from illness Mirella died two months ago on June 29. The Times of India report said that vets in the zoo who conducted a postmortem on the same day did not disclose the details of the report. However, the Zoo authorities claimed on the day of death that a heart attack was the cause of death.
With no clarity on what caused the death, the authorities sent the visceral samples to Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biological Sciences in Bengaluru.
According to the TOI, the report that the institute submitted to the zoo authorities last week was inconclusive which led them to go to the forensic investigative agency.
There have been cases of foul play in a few deaths reported in 2004 when three elephants, one tigress, and a lion-tailed macaque died in a span of one year. The cause of all the cases was found to be poisoning.
The food given to these animals had zinc phosphate which is generally used to kill rats. After the probe in to the animals' deaths in 2004, eight employees of the zoo were dismissed and the case against them is pending.
Zoo management officials are mum on the issue and no police complaint has been filed so far.