Hogle Zoo is mourning the unexpected death of a 3-month-old Siberian tiger cub this week, but zoo officials stress the death was from natural causes that couldn't be avoided.
"This is a way to educate people about 'the circle of life,' " Stacey Phillips, Hogle Zoo spokeswoman, said.
Although the zoo is a protected environment, the animals there are not immortal.
The tiger, a male and part of a trio of cubs born on Feb. 16 of this year, died almost instantly Wednesday from a massive coronary event or heart attack.
Phillips said though veterinarians stress that animals don't truly have heart attacks like humans, that's the closest description possible.
"It looks like he died in his sleep," Phillips said.
"What happened to him happened very quickly and he didn't seem to suffer," Dr. Nancy Carpenter, the zoo's veterinarian, said.
A necropsy, an autopsy for an animal, was performed, and preliminary results support the massive coronary cause. However, detailed results from pathology reports won't be available for several weeks.
Phillips stressed that the death was definitely not heat-related, because even though Wednesday was a record 99-degree-temperature day in Salt Lake, the temperature in the tiger enclosure was only in the 75-80 degree range, thanks to cooling by misting machines. She also said the cub likely survived a lot longer in captivity than he would have in the wild, where predators would have likely gotten to him first.
"It's been quite a shock for us," Phillips said. "He was a favorite. . . . It's a huge loss and we're very emotional." The tigers are a critically endangered species.
Are the mother, Tiksi, a 7-year-old female, and a brother and sister cub mourning the loss?
"The mother and cubs are not showing any signs of mourning," she said. In fact, if a tiger wailed in the wild at the loss of a cub, it could be located by other predators. The mother and the two remaining cubs are still on display and playing and frolicking, as usual, though tigers — like any cats — sleep a lot of the time.
The late cub faced challenges from the beginning because he was born with a fetal abnormality that affected his right eye. The zoo's veterinary staff had feared this defect might be the manifestation of underlying medical conditions. They monitored it closely and noticed that unlike his two siblings, he didn't show natural aggressiveness — this cub remained more playful and agreeable than the others. Ironically, that often made him the favorite among the three cubs to visitors.
"His behavior was off," Phillips said.
The three cubs were to be officially named Friday in the climax of a community naming contest. Now that announcement will be delayed at least a week.
The zoo has seen several other animal deaths the past few years. Sandile, a 6-year-old giraffe, died in a freak accident on Jan. 2, 2002, when its neck became stuck in some fencing; Chinook, the zoo's 25-year-old female polar bear, died of old age on Dec. 18, 2002; Tokia, a 37-year-old Asian elephant, died of cancer in March 2001; and Gorgeous, a 50-year-old gorilla, died of old age on Oct. 9, 1999.
Regarding this week's unusual hot weather, Phillips said the zoo has done everything it usually does to help animals cope with the heat. "We just did it earlier this year," she said.
That includes misting devices and access to back areas with more shade.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com