A TIGER at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has died following an illness.

Five-year-old male, Tanvir, died on Saturday night despite efforts made by a team of vets to deduce why he was having difficulty digesting food.

In December, staff at the Wraxall attraction noticed he was having trouble eating. Since then he had been receiving intensive veterinary treatment from independent specialists.

This included a comprehensive range of internal and external investigations, conducted by vets who worked alongside Noah’s Ark staff, including blood tests, x-rays, scans and tissue samples.

All results were inconclusive, including an endoscopy which used a camera to explore the tiger’s digestive tract.

After a brave battle with the illness and recovering from two sedations needed to carry out investigations, Tanvir died peacefully on Saturday.

A post mortem the following day revealed he died from an undetectable blockage in his intestine. His body has now been cremated.

A statement from Noah’s Ark said: “Our grateful thanks are extended to the dedicated team of vets and to our own staff who worked tirelessly to treat Tanvir.

“Although deeply saddened by the loss of such a wonderful and majestic animal, a favourite among many of our staff, we are secure in the knowledge that everything possible was done to care for him.”

Noah’s Ark still has two tigers, Tiana and Khan, along with the African lion brothers, Zulu and Masai. There are no immediate plans to replace Tanvir.

The zoo is now inviting people to send in their memories and photos of him.

Tanvir is the second tiger to die at Noah’s Ark. In 2009, female Tira died of cancer shortly after arriving at the attraction. Her body was buried on the zoo owners’ farmland but was later exhumed after it was revealed this was against environmental health laws and zoo policy.