An endangered tiger has died at a cash-strapped Indonesian zoo a month before its birthday.
The male Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) named Wesa is the fourth tiger to die at the Medan Zoo in the past three months.
Local media said that the zoo, located in the city of Medan. In North Sumatra, in Indonesia, has been struggling with funding and mismanagement issues and that the tiger was severely ill.
Head of the city-owned company, Pembangunan Kota Medan, which manages the zoo, Bambang Hendarto, said that the tiger died on 22nd January and was set to turn 17 on 25th February.
He told local media: “We received the Bengal tiger from Ragunan [Zoo] in Jakarta. He was supposed to be 17 years old next month.”
He added that the zoo’s nine other tigers were at risk of dying, including three Sumatran tigers called Manis, 20, Anggi, 19 and Sorik, 12.
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Also said that the zoo was having trouble feeding its animals.
And said that one option was to close the zoo down but added that an association was now helping them feed the animals, saying. “We can no longer afford to feed the animals at Medan Zoo, thankfully there’s a third party that is willing to help.”
Bengal tiger is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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