28 August 2013

Wellington Zoo devastated by passing of Sumatran Tiger Cantik

Wellington Zoo staff and community were devastated today by the passing of the Zoo’s female Sumatran Tiger, Cantik.

Cantik was 21 years old and came to Wellington Zoo from Burger’s Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands, in March 1994.

Cantik was suffering from a malignant adrenal tumour along with severe arthritis and at her age would be unlikely to survive invasive treatment, so the difficult decision was made to euthanise her last night.

Paul Horton, Life Sciences Manager at Wellington Zoo, said, “Cantik was loved by everyone at Wellington Zoo and has lived a long full life here. Our staff and our partners at Pacific Radiology and Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital have done everything possible to ensure she received the best possible care throughout her illness. We know our visitors and community will be saddened by this news too and our thoughts are with them.’’

“Cantik was an important part of the international conservation breeding programme for the critically endangered Sumatran Tigers – there are only approximately 300-400 left in the wild. Cantik’s name means ‘beautiful’ in Indonesian and her legacy lives on at Wellington Zoo through her son, Rokan. Cantik’s offspring are well represented in zoos across Australasia with over 20 tigers in the region being her descendants.”

Wellington Zoo is proud to support 21st Century Tiger, a wild tiger conservation organisation. 100% of donations to 21st Century Tiger go towards supporting field conservation projects to give wild tigers a future.

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