Oldest male tiger housed at Pittsburgh Zoo dies
Taiga succumbed to hernia complications
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium said that the zoo’s oldest male tiger has died because of complications from a diaphragmatic hernia.
Taiga, 18 years old, had been immobilized on Thursday for a declaw clip, and had recovered from the routine procedure, the zoo said in a brief statement. Later Thursday afternoon, he suddenly died.
A statement from the zoo on Saturday said that “necropsy
results showed that he had a large diaphragmatic hernia, within his stomach and intestines in the chest cavity, impeding his breathing. The hernia had been there for some time. X-rays taken eight months ago of his chest showed no abnormalities.”
Amur tigers were formerly called Siberian tigers because they roamed Siberia. But now they are almost totally confined to an area of East Asia along the Amur River. The big cats are classified as critically endangered.
Zoo officials did not provide more information about the tiger’s death or how many tigers remain.
It is the second time in a week that the zoo community has been grieving a loss. A 3-month-old African elephant calf was euthanized Wednesday, ending three months of round-the-clock care in an attempt to save the abandoned elephant. The female calf failed to put on weight and, it was determined,could not survive.