Breeding introduction turns fatal at Tacoma zoo after male tiger attacks potential mate
A female Sumatran tiger from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium died Monday after sustaining severe injuries from another tiger during a breeding introduction.
The female tiger, Kirana, had been born at the zoo and was 6 years old.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, completed Monday confirmed Kirana died from substantial trauma from injuries and a bacterial infection, the zoo’s head veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf, said in a press release.
Zoo staff had slowly introduced Kirana and Raja, the zoo’s 2-year-old male Sumatran tiger, over the course of months as part of a plan to help save the endangered species. The two were closely monitored and separated by a mesh door, staff said.
When zoo keepers removed the barrier to allow the tigers to meet physically Friday, things went wrong.
“When keepers saw Kirana in distress, they moved swiftly to distract Raja and separate the pair,” according to the zoo’s news release. “The veterinary and animal care teams immediately addressed Kirana’s life-threatening injuries, providing supportive care and closely monitoring her around-the-clock over the weekend.”
Kirana’s health appeared to improve Sunday, but she succumbed to her injuries.
“We’re devastated by the loss of a very special tiger and by the loss to the tiger population as a whole,” said zoo general curator Dr. Karen Goodrowe, who also serves as coordinator of Species Survival Plan programs for Sumatran, Malayan and Amur tigers. “When tigers breed, it’s natural for them to spar with each other and there is typically some level of aggression. This level of aggression was far beyond what we would expect with tiger introductions.”
The Tacoma zoo has introduced four Sumatran tiger pairs since 2010 and none has resulted in a tiger death or serious injury, according to Goodrowe.
Point Defiance Zoo was one of 14 North American zoos that received recommendations this year from the Species Survival Plan programs to breed Sumatran tigers. There are only about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Seventy-seven Sumatran tigers live in North American zoos.
“The loss of Kirana is a tragedy for our zoo family, our community, and our world,” said Point Defiance Zoo director Alan Varsik. “With just a few Sumatran tigers left on this earth, we need to do everything we possibly can to help them survive.”