ATLANTA — Zoo Atlanta officials announced Wednesday Sparky the tiger has passed away. He was 18 years old.
He recently fell sick with renal disease and osteoarthritis and other conditions due to his age, according to zoo officials. After fracturing a tooth, it was too late for the tiger to recover due to his declining health. The team had to make the difficult decision to euthanize him.
Sparky was born on April 22, 2004. He first arrived at Zoo Atlanta from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums organization, which seeks to maintain healthy tiger population at zoos, officials said.
“Sparky, was greatly loved by his care team and who inspired awe and fascination in all visitors who had the privilege of seeing him here at the Zoo," said Dr. Jennifer Mickelberg, vice president of collections and conservation.
The Sumatran tiger is one of the world’s rarest tiger subspecies. It is currently listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. They are believed to be fewer than 400 in the wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the zoo.
“While losing such a special and beautiful individual is never easy, we are especially disheartened by the loss of such a critically endangered animal,” Mickelberg said.
All six remaining tiger subspecies are critically endangered or endangered, and three subspecies are recent extinctions, zoo officials said.
