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Tiger cub attacked by father dies at Brookfield Zoo
By Associated Press
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BROOKFIELD — A 4-month-old tiger cub at Brookfield Zoo died while undergoing treatment for injuries suffered when his father bit him last month, zoo officials announced.

The male Amur tiger lost part of his right foreleg and part of his tail on Sept. 27.

The injuries were not considered life-threatening, but treatment continued, and the animal died Sunday while recovering from anesthesia, according to the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the suburban zoo.

The preliminary examination did not determine why the cub died, but the zoo expects to have results of pathology tests in about a week, said spokesman Josh Mogerman.

No one witnessed the attack. The cub’s father apparently bit the leg when the cub extended his right front paw through a small opening in a door separating the animals, zoo officials said. The limb then had to be removed.

Both the male cub and his twin sister suffered tail injuries when their mother, 12-year-old Tiara, used the tails to pull her cubs out of the reach of the father, 13-year-old Robeki, zoo officials said.

The female cub is doing well and has gained 6 pounds in the hospital on zoo grounds, but is being closely monitored, Mogerman said.

The Chicago Zoological Society said an assessment of the incident was completed Friday. As a result, significant changes are being made to the housing policies for young carnivores, as well as training and staffing, the zoo’s statement said.

In the wild, Amur tigers live solitary lives, getting together only to mate. The young are cared for by their mothers, and males don’t participate in rearing and protecting the cubs.

The tigers are considered critically endangered, living in far eastern Russian, northeast China and along the northern border of Korea. Formerly called Siberian tigers, they no longer exist there.

North American and European zoos keep about 480 Amur tigers.

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Reader comments on this story - 4 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

hummmm wrote on Oct 9, 2007 2:48 PM:

" "we must live in the wild because we have a lot of human fathers that only get together to mate then the young are cared for by their mother.the males don't participate in rearing and protecting their cubs" "

man wrote on Oct 9, 2007 10:27 AM:

" that sucks, such a sad story, they should have had them seperated better! poor baby cub was probably just trying to play~ :( "

Umm. . . Hello wrote on Oct 9, 2007 7:52 AM:

" If they live solitary lives. . . why keep the male around the cubs? Just because the tigers are in a zoo doesn't mean that they thought processes change. I'm also probably going to guess that the tiger's enclosure was too small of a space anyway. "

How SAD!! This is just wrote on Oct 9, 2007 12:53 AM:

" a real heartbreaking story. Hopefully, the new housing arrangements for young cubs will be utilized immediately so this will not happen again. "
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