Serum calcium and inorganic phosphorus in tigers (Panthera tigris) and Leopard (Panthera pardus) kept in captivity

172 The study was conducted on adult, captive Tigers (Panthera tigris) and Leopard (Panthera pardus) of Sanjay Gandhi Zoological Park, Patna. They were fed once daily for six days a week. The quantity of feed provided to the animals and feeding schedule is presented in Table 1. Regular deworming was done with broad spectrum anthelmintics. The faecal samples of each animal were examined on three consecutive days and were found negative for parasitic infestation. Single blood samples from each three male tigers (tigers), six female tigers (tigeress) and six female leopards (leopardess) were collected in winter season by restraining them is squeeze cage. Blood was collected either from dorsal branch of the medial saphenous vein in the hind leg at about the level of knee or from the recurrent tarsal vein in the hind leg. The serum calcium was estimated by the Clark and Collip method, while serum inorganic phosphorus was estimated by Fiske and Subbarow method as described by Kolmer et al (1969). The data were analysed for averages, standard error and analysis of variance as described by Snedecor and Cochran (1967).