A 3-year-old male Amur tiger, named Martin, was euthanized Friday at the Denver Zoo after suffering with leukemia.
Martin, was born in June of 2014 at the Moscow Zoo, arrived in Denver on July 1, according to a zoo news release. Martin was being acclimated to his new surroundings, and had not yet been unveiled to zoo visitors, when he began showing signs of illness on Oct. 22, including decreased activity and lack of appetite.
Denver Zoo is very saddened to announce the death of “Martin,” a 3-year-old male Amur tiger. (For more information, please visit our FB.)
— Denver Zoo (@DenverZoo)
On Thursday, animal care and veterinary staff conducted a blood transfusion from one of the zoo’s other male tigers, Nikolai, to Martin. Test results on Friday revealed that Martin had “an extremely aggressive form of leukemia,” the zoo said, with cancer cells evident in his blood, bone marrow and spleen. Having determined the cancer was terminal, zoo officials euthanized the tiger.
“To lose such a young and magnificent animal is a devastating loss for our team and our community,” said Scott Larsen, VP of veterinary medicine.
Martin’s medical records from Moscow did not reflect any significant health issues and a pre-shipment exam in June was normal. Before being euthanized, reproductive material was collected from Martin for potential future use, the zoo said.
The median life span of male tigers in zoos is 16 years. Denver currently has three other big cats: 7-year-old males, Nikolai and Thimbu, and a 6-year-old female, Nikita.
Once called Siberian tigers, Amur tigers, with an estimated population of less than 400 remaining in the wild, are classified as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
