WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Zoo has euthanized its aging male Sumatran tiger because he was suffering from a spinal cord disease.
Zoo officials said Rokan was built like “a linebacker” and lived nearly 20 years until he was euthanized Friday. He lived longer than the 15-year life expectancy for Sumatran tigers in the wild.
Officials say he had been suffering from a neuromuscular disorder with lameness in his rear leg. His condition worsened in December.
Rokan sired 10 surviving cubs as part of a Species Survival Plan. He was born at the San Antonio Zoo in 1990 and came to Washington in 1997.
Tigers are generally solitary. But zoo keepers say Rokan had a strong bond with the zoo’s elderly female tiger, Soyono. He only got upset when he didn’t know where she was.
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