Florida zoo mourns passing of elderly Sumatran tiger, Berani; 'magnificent cat'
Photo courtesy: Zoo Miami
MIAMI, Fla. - Zoo Miami announced the passing of an elderly and ailing Sumatran tiger after a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis.
‘Berani,’ the 15 ½-year-old tiger was euthanized this week after testing revealed that he had cancer of the spleen. The rare tiger had been very lethargic and had lost his appetite over the past several days, the zoo announced, and he was brought to the zoo's Animal Hospital on Tuesday for some examinations and tests.
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Initial indications showed he was severely anemic and dehydrated, but a series of procedures, including radiographs, ultrasounds, and an endoscopy revealed an enlarged spleen and abnormalities of the kidneys.
Photo courtesy: Zoo Miami
On Thursday afternoon, test results confirmed the tiger had cancer. Due to his advanced age and the unlikelihood of any improvement, authorities made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize him.
Berani was born at the San Francisco Zoo in March 2008 and came to Miami as part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommendation via the Montgomery Zoo in Alabama.
He was paired with a female named 'Leeloo' and sired a male cub named ‘Satu’ in 2015 and a female cub named ‘Ndari’ in 2021. The zoo did release the following indication of some positive news:
"In addition, as we sadly announce his passing, we will soon be announcing something much more uplifting that will only add to this magnificent cat’s legacy."
According to Zoo Miami, there are believed to be less than 500 Sumatran tigers in the wild; they are found in forested areas on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They are the smallest subspecies of tiger.