Eagle Radio’s Scott Donovan holding Spirit as a cub alongside his brother Sunny in the late 1990s.
It was announced last week that Sunny, the Bengal Tiger at Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo, was euthanized just before his 19th birthday. The tiger’s health and quality of life dipped after years of fighting severe arthritis, stomach ulcers, and kidney failure.
Great Bend zookeeper Ashley Burdick says the hot summer weather did not help the conditions for the older tiger.
Ashley Burdick Audio
According to World Wildlife Organization, there are more captive tigers in the United States than there are in the wild. There are approximately 5,000 captive tigers in the U.S. compared to roughly 3,200 tigers in the wild.
Burdick mentioned renovations will need to be done to the existing tiger exhibit in Great Bend before the zoo seeks their next tigers. Depending on the species of tiger, the zoo may have to enclose the top of the exhibit or add a holding pen.
Acquiring new tigers should not be a problem according to Burdick.
Ashley Burdick Audio
The zoo will seek to acquire Malayan or Sumatran tigers through the Species Survival Plan. The SSP was created in 1981 to assist in the survival of select species in zoos, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.
Last summer, the zoo dealt with their lion (Boss) being euthanized. In 2015, the zoo mourned the death of the second-oldest spider monkey in the world after Spidey made it to 50 years old. Burdick says the zoo is steadily lowering the average age at the zoo.