Endangered Amur Tiger Dead After ‘Freak Accident’ at Zoo
A rare Amur tiger is dead after a "freak accident" at Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
2-year-old Mila, who was transferred from the Toronto Zoo earlier this year "on a future breeding recommendation," was getting ready for a dental procedure when the incident occurred.
According to the Zoo, it was a severe infection in need of immediate attention, as it was "advancing to her sinuses" and could prove fatal if left untreated.
Mila's team had recently re-established training from the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Care staff that would have Mila permit them to give her an injection. On Friday, she easily received a shot of anesthesia. Unfortunately, she then jumped onto a bench and lay down. Less than a minute later, as the drugs took effect, she slipped to the ground.
Though the bench was only waist-high, the way she landed led to a fatal spinal injury, despite her team's best efforts to save her. “The team quickly entered her den when it was safe and diligently tried for 40 minutes to give her life-saving care,” Dr. Eric Klaphake, the zoo's head veterinarian, said.
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The zoo's president and CEO, Bob Chastain, added, “These are impossible life-and-death decisions being made in real-time...Do you anesthetize her despite the risks and give her the dental care she needs? Once you see her slipping, you wonder if you can safely get in there to stop a 270-pound tiger from falling completely. How fast can you safely go in and provide rescue attempts?"
He added, "We never take decisions to anesthetize an animal for a procedure lightly, and this is a tragic example of why.”
As a result, the zoo is making efforts to ensure a "freak accident" like this never happens again.
Unfortunately, it's the second female Amur tiger that the zoo has lost lately. In 2021, a tiger named Savelii died while recovering from an artificial insemination procedure, which the zoo says emphasizes the "fragile state of their species."
According to the Encylopedia Britannica, there are less than 600 Amur tigers left in the wild, with "several hundred" others living in zoos or nature parks around the world.
“We feel a huge responsibility for all of the animals in our care, and we especially feel for Mila, her current and past caretakers and the people in Toronto who loved her from her birth as the only survivor in her litter,” Chastain said. “Not only was she an internationally beloved individual who defied the odds as a cub and survived to adulthood, but she was here on a mission to save her own species.”
Dolf DeJong, CEO of the Toronto Zoo, added, “Watching Mila transform from a playful and curious young cub to an independent and often feisty young adult was an incredible experience for me, the Zoo team and the Toronto community. She will be deeply missed by all, and while we feel certain the connections she made with guests will stay with them for a lifetime and were an inspiration to get involved in the fight to save this endangered species in the wild, we are deeply saddened by her loss.”
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