RACINE, Wis. — The Racine Zoo announced Wednesday its resident Amur tiger, Naka, recently passed away at the age of 18.
Naka was recently diagnosed with a malignant sarcoma. Samples of the mass, which were discovered on her side, were submitted for testing. The test results showed the lump was an aggressive form of cancer. After consulting with other Zoo veterinarians, the Racine Zoo decided to attempt to remove the mass.
The removal procedure was successful, however, Naka was not able to make a full recovery. She died due to complications from the surgery and other age-related issues, the Zoo said.
Amur tigers have an average life span of 10 to 12 years in the wild. Naka was a little over a month shy of her 19th birthday and one of the oldest Amur tigers in North American zoos. She has a surviving brother, Kunali, at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage.
"Zoo staff are grieving this difficult loss, but are also thankful to have learned so much about geriatric tiger care and are happy they were able to provide excellent care in her later years," the Zoo said in a statement Wednesday. "Naka learned so many new behaviors in the last two years to help keepers and vet staff monitor her arthritis and age-related pancreas issues, keepers started calling her 'Rockstar.'"
Naka was born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in New York in 2004. She came to the Racine Zoo from Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut in 2016. She was one of the most critically endangered species as an Amur tiger. There are less than 500 remaining in the wild. Amur tigers are also the largest cat species.
"Naka was not the most trusting of cats but once you were in her inner circle, you knew you were in for life," the Zoo said. "She was a mighty huntress that would always dispatch her prey. Whether that be the unlucky raccoon that happened to wander into her exhibit or a phonebook that she would tear into the tiniest confetti pieces."
Naka was known for responding to lions' roars, which keepers found fascinating. She loved cinnamon, pouncing on boat buoys in the pool, and biting the weight board every time she got weighed.
The Zoo shared, "This beautiful striped cat will be missed by the Zoo's carnivore team and the entire Racine Zoo family"
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