Woodland Park Zoo says goodbye to its last tiger
SEATTLE - The last tiger at Woodland Park Zoo was euthanized Friday due to severe health problems.
JoJo, a 20-year-old female Sumatran tiger, was suffering from age-related kidney failure after months of physical decline, so zoo officials made the decision to put her to sleep.
The life expectancy of Sumatran tigers is 18 to 20 years in zoos and 15 years in the wild.
JoJo arrived in 2001 from Memphis Zoo as a breeding companion for the zoo’s only male tiger, Rakata, who died in February at age 19. The pair lived compatibly for 11 years and produced five cubs, the last cub born in 2006.
“It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to JoJo and the last tiger in our animal collection. She regaled us with her majestic beauty and was a superb mother to her cubs,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo. “Her legacy will live on through her offspring.”
The cat had been declining in health for several months and experienced progressive weight loss and appetite over the past couple of weeks.
"Age-related changes in the kidney are a common cause of decline in geriatric zoo cats,” explained Dr. Darin Collins, the zoo’s director of animal health. "Veterinary staff have done an excellent job of making her final days as comfortable as possible.”
All six tiger subspecies – Sumatran, Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan and South China – are endangered, with as few as 3,000 to 3,900 tigers remaining in the wild. The Sumatran is very rare with only about 400 believed to exist in the wild. The most critically endangered is the South China tiger with only a mere 20 to 30 remaining in the wild.
The primary reasons for the decimation of wild tiger populations are illegal poaching, human overpopulation and habitat destruction.
Ramirez said a new chapter will begin for tigers at Woodland Park Zoo when a new, state-of-the-art exhibit complex opens in 2014.
“We will introduce the Malayan tiger, a related endangered subspecies, to our visitors,” explained Ramirez.
In addition to Malayan tigers, the complex also will feature sloth bears, Asian small-clawed otters and tropical birds. The $19.6 million exhibit project will transform the 60-year-old, outdated infrastructure into a state-of-the-art, spacious and naturalistic exhibit environment. The transformation will improve the exhibit experience for the zoo’s animals, visitors and staff, and will reduce resource consumption with sustainable design.
JoJo, a 20-year-old female Sumatran tiger, was suffering from age-related kidney failure after months of physical decline, so zoo officials made the decision to put her to sleep.
The life expectancy of Sumatran tigers is 18 to 20 years in zoos and 15 years in the wild.
JoJo arrived in 2001 from Memphis Zoo as a breeding companion for the zoo’s only male tiger, Rakata, who died in February at age 19. The pair lived compatibly for 11 years and produced five cubs, the last cub born in 2006.
“It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to JoJo and the last tiger in our animal collection. She regaled us with her majestic beauty and was a superb mother to her cubs,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo. “Her legacy will live on through her offspring.”
The cat had been declining in health for several months and experienced progressive weight loss and appetite over the past couple of weeks.
"Age-related changes in the kidney are a common cause of decline in geriatric zoo cats,” explained Dr. Darin Collins, the zoo’s director of animal health. "Veterinary staff have done an excellent job of making her final days as comfortable as possible.”
All six tiger subspecies – Sumatran, Amur (Siberian), Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan and South China – are endangered, with as few as 3,000 to 3,900 tigers remaining in the wild. The Sumatran is very rare with only about 400 believed to exist in the wild. The most critically endangered is the South China tiger with only a mere 20 to 30 remaining in the wild.
The primary reasons for the decimation of wild tiger populations are illegal poaching, human overpopulation and habitat destruction.
Ramirez said a new chapter will begin for tigers at Woodland Park Zoo when a new, state-of-the-art exhibit complex opens in 2014.
“We will introduce the Malayan tiger, a related endangered subspecies, to our visitors,” explained Ramirez.
In addition to Malayan tigers, the complex also will feature sloth bears, Asian small-clawed otters and tropical birds. The $19.6 million exhibit project will transform the 60-year-old, outdated infrastructure into a state-of-the-art, spacious and naturalistic exhibit environment. The transformation will improve the exhibit experience for the zoo’s animals, visitors and staff, and will reduce resource consumption with sustainable design.
If the Woodland Park Zoo really wants to honor tigers, it would be better to spend the cage building money on saving them in the wild, where they belong. Â
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What a beautiful tiger. She will be missed. Jo Jo may you rest in peace.
My daughter & I used to enjoy watching the tigers at Woodland Park. Point Defiance Zoo has one of JoJo's & Rakata's offspring. They sure are beautiful tigers.
She was sure beautiful. RIP JoJo.
RIP JoJo :(