Racine Zoo's Amur tiger dies, cancer removal surgery complications

RACINE, Wis. - The Racine Zoo announced the death of Naka, the zoo's Amur tiger, on Wednesday, May 3.

Naka passed away last week at the age of 18, the zoo said. She had recently been diagnosed with a malignant sarcoma that was discovered during routine behavioral training, and it was determined to be an aggressive form of cancer. 

After consulting with other zoo veterinarians, the Racine Zoo said it was determined that the best course of action would be to attempt to remove the mass. Though the removal procedure was successful, Naka was not able to make a full recovery, and passed due to complications from the surgery and other age-related issues.

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With an average life span of 10-12 years in the wild, Naka had way surpassed her wild counterparts being only a little over a month shy of her 19th birthday. She was one of the oldest Amur tigers in North American zoos, a news release said. She has one surviving brother, Kunali, at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, Alaska.

The zoo said Naka was born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in New York on June 7, 2004. She was sent to the Racine Zoo from Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut in 2016 as a recommendation from the Amur Tiger Species Survival Plan. As an Amur tiger, Naka was one of the most critically endangered species (fewer than 500 remaining in the wild) and the largest cat species.