A four-year-old male tiger, which was kept in quarantine at the Mysuru zoo, died on Sunday. The cause of death is being attributed to cardiac failure.

A king cobra, which was also kept in quarantine, died on Saturday following liver problem, according to the zoo authorities.

The tiger and two pairs of king cobra, along with lesser whistling teal and monitor lizard, had been brought to the zoo under an animal exchange programme from Pilikula Biological Park in Mangaluru on February 28. They had been kept in the quarantine enclosures after their arrival.

The sudden deaths has shocked the zoo management and the veterinarians, who have retrieved some organs from the deceased tiger and king cobra and sent them to the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals in Bengaluru for further investigation for ascertaining what led to the death. “The deaths were sudden and our vets had very little scope to save them,” said zoo Executive Director Ajit Kulkarni.

The tiger collapsed in its enclosure and the vets suspected heart attack as the reason. “The tiger and cobra were found to be in good health when our vets went to Pilikula to pick them up,” he added.