Putin, an Amur tiger, has died in the United States.
The Minnesota Zoo’s 12-year-old male Amur tiger, nicknamed Putin, died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday during regular medical treatment.
The animal died despite the valiant efforts of veterinarians, animal health technicians, and zookeepers, according to the Zoo website.
The animal died during a routine medical procedure, despite the efforts of veterinarians.
“Today is an incredibly hard day for all of us at the Minnesota Zoo and we will be mourning for quite some time,” said Minnesota Zoo Director John Frawley. “Our Zoo has played a key role in global tiger conservation throughout our history and we currently are co-leaders of the Tiger Conservation Campaign, which has raised millions of dollars for tiger conservation. While this loss is great, we can be proud of our efforts – past, present, and future – to advance tiger conservation worldwide.”
With heavy hearts we share that our 12-year-old male Amur tiger passed away yesterday during a routine medical procedure despite heroic emergency efforts by our team. This is a profound loss, and we thank our staff for their dedication to the animals. https://t.co/XX3K9gqcY8 pic.twitter.com/TECZCoLtz0
— Minnesota Zoo (@mnzoo) March 24, 2022
The tiger, named Putin, was born in the Czech Republic in 2009 and spent six years in the Denmark Zoo before arriving in Minnesota. His genetic heritage lives on in the form of numerous cubs, one of whom was born in 2017 at the Minnesota Zoo.
Image Credit: Minnesota Zoo
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