‘Playful and curious’ tiger dies in fall during medical procedure, Colorado zoo says
A 2-year-old Amur tiger named Mila died after a fall during a medical procedure, Colorado zoo officials reported.
Mila slipped and fell off a waist-high bench Friday, Aug. 25, after being anesthetized for dental treatment, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo said in an Aug. 29 news release.
She suffered a fatal spinal injury and could not be saved.
“She could have slid off from that height a hundred times and landed in a variety of other positions and been unaffected,” said zoo veterinarian Dr. Eric Klaphake.
No one was in the room with Mila at the time as she was still awake, but zoo officials say the fall happened so swiftly that workers could not have prevented it.
A team observing Mila immediately entered the den when it was safe and worked for 40 minutes to try to save her, Klaphake said.
“You can plan and plan and things still go wrong,” zoo president Bob Chastain said. “We have successfully anesthetized countless tigers in this same den, and have never experienced an accident like this.”
Mila came to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo from the Toronto Zoo in March for a future breeding program. She was nearly ready to go on public display, zoo officials said.
“She was making such great progress with us,” said Rebecca Zwicker, animal care manager in Asian Highlands at the zoo. “She was a feisty and intelligent tiger, and the team had been patiently and consistently training with her to help her settle in and feel comfortable in indoor and outdoor spaces behind the scenes.”
Toronto Zoo officials said Mila will be “deeply missed” there as well.
“Watching Mila transform from a playful and curious young cub to an independent and often feisty young adult was an incredible experience,” Toronto Zoo CEO Dolf DeJong said.
In 2021, another female Amur tiger, this one named Savelli, died at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo after suffering complications during recovery from an artificial insemination procedure, officials said.
Amur tigers are critically endangered in the wild, zoo officials said. Only about 500 remain in their native habitats.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is in Colorado Springs, about 70 miles south of Denver.
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