14-year-old Amur tiger passes away at Utah’s Hogle Zoo
Jun 8, 2018, 2:55 PM | Updated: Jun 9, 2018, 12:51 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah’s Hogle Zoo has lost a tiger.
Credit: Utah Hogle Zoo
Kazek (CAW-zik), a 14-year-old Amur tiger, died from an inflamed gastrointestinal tract, and a mass growing in his duodenum, early autopsy results showed.
Keepers noted Kazek hadn’t been himself over the past couple of days and on Thursday, June 7, he began to deteriorate rapidly.
The zoo’s Animal Care staff monitored him around-the-clock.
The zoo says Kazek was a staff and community favorite.
Credit: Utah Hogle Zoo
“He was a great cat,” said lead keeper, Stephanie Natt. “He would chuff at us to say good morning, every morning. He liked participating in his own care, eager to train and was very responsive. We’re really going to miss him.”
In an email, the zoo wrote Kazek came to Hogle Zoo from Buffalo Zoo in 2006, with the opening of the Asian Highlands exhibit and was a must-visit resident. They wrote that he was the highlight for many guests, especially during the winter months, or on summer morning visits when guests caught him in the water.
Amur tigers, the zoo included, are from far eastern Russia and northeast China. They are the largest of the tiger species and are critically endangered with some estimates at only 400 left in the wild.
