The puppy was diagnosed with widespread peritonitis last Sunday.
One of Korkeasaari’s three Amur tiger cubs has died of a serious illness, the zoo informs. A male puppy named Oboi fell ill last week with peritonitis, which was caused by a sharp piece of bone swallowed with food.
Animal keepers noticed last week that the puppy was not eating and that it appeared to be in pain. In further examinations carried out on Sunday, the animal was found to have widespread peritonitis.
It was not possible to treat the disease, so the puppy was euthanized. Monday’s pathological examination revealed that the cause of the inflammation was a sharp piece of bone swallowed by the puppy, which had made holes in the intestine and got stuck there.
Tigers crush bones with their teeth when eating meat, and it is normal to have bone fragments in their intestines, the zoo says. The food of Amur tigers on Korkeasaari includes whole carcasses, which are often deer that have died in a crash.
– The tiger cub Oboi had the best possible care at his disposal, but unfortunately nothing could be done. A wild animal cannot be treated like a pet, which can be kept in the intensive care unit of an animal hospital for days. We all mourn for Oboi, says Sainmaa.
The mother tiger is calling for her lost cub
The mother tiger has been calling for her missing son since Sunday. The life of the other tiger cubs does not seem to have been affected by the sibling’s departure, the release states.
The puppies, two females and a now deceased male, were born in Korkeasaari at the end of 2022. For the endangered Amur tiger, the birth of cubs was considered really important to revive the population.
The puppies were supposed to be cared for by their mother in Korkeasaari for about two years, until they could be transferred to other European zoos.
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