Death of cougar who was a favorite at Aurora zoo for more than 17 years ‘like the loss of a family member’
Tonka, a 17-year-old cougar, was a centerpiece and a favorite among visitors of Aurora’s Phillips Park Zoo, leaving zookeepers and many residents in mourning after the cat passed away Wednesday.
“He was such a good guy and the keepers loved him so much,” Zoo Manager Dan Powell said. “He came here at such a young age that we really got to participate with him since he was a baby and rear him. Cats in general can be standoffish, but he was a sweetheart.”
Tonka arrived with his sister, Macha, in the spring of 2005 as 4-week-old kittens. Tonka enjoyed serving as a focal point for the zoo over the last 17 years and 8 months of his life, Powell said.
Tonka could often be seen roaming in his play area, hanging out above the entrance to the cat building or resting in the shade of his den.
He had been treated for arthritis for several years and saw a sudden decline in his health recently after he stopped moving and subsequently stopped eating and drinking. Tonka was euthanized on Wednesday after veterinarians saw his quality of life was declining, Powell said.
Veterinarians will perform a necropsy to determine the specific cause of his death, Powell said. Tonka lived longer than most cougars, who typically live to be 12 to 15 years old, he said.
When Powell began working at the zoo in 2017, he ran an analysis of the animal’s longevity and flagged Tonka as a concern.
“Our veterinarian is really good and can often see potential issues before they get really bad, so we get a lot of good longevity in our animals,” Powell said, adding that after looking at a database across the world, Tonka was one of the older cougars in captivity. “We paid really close attention and tried to help him out as best we could.”
His sister Macha died in 2015.
Powell said the city is in the process of creating a master plan for the zoo and has no plans yet to get another cougar until the plan is finalized. The 108-year-old zoo is owned by the city of Aurora and features mammals, birds and reptiles native to the Americas.
The zoo has one remaining cat, a Eurasian lynx named Tito.
“We are deciding what level of carnivores we are going to exhibit here and looking forward to the master plan that will have new exhibits and better facilities with a more realistic environment for the animals to live in,” Powell said.
Tonka will be sorely missed and played a large role in educating students about the importance of conservation initiatives, Powell said.
“This is like the loss of a family member to everyone here,” Powell said. “Even zookeepers who have been here less than a year still loved him so much.”
