A six-week-old rare white Bengal tiger cub has died of cold in Crimea's power blackout, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday, citing Oleg Zubkov, director of the "Skazka" zoo in Yalta.
The zoo failed to provide the necessary heating for the cub after one of the two gasoline generators heating the zoo stopped working on Dec. 1, Zubkov said.
Crimea has been suffering electricity shortages after Ukrainian activists blew up the existing power lines from Ukraine nearly two weeks ago.
The cub was the offspring of the tiger Tigryulya, donated by Ukraine's ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in 2009. The cub belongs to a very rare species of tiger.
There are only 135 white Bengal tigers left in the world, Zubkov said, adding that the zoo is trying to maintain adequate heating for the remaining two white tiger cubs.
Crimean Prosecutor General Natalia Poklonskaya said the zoo director is responsible for the death of the tiger cub.
Every private business is required to purchase gasoline generators at their own expense in such a situation, Poklonskaya said, according to TASS.
