A rare Amur tiger died in a "freak accident" after falling off a bench and suffering a severe spinal injury after being administered anesthesia for dental operations at a Colorado zoo.
Mila, who was transferred from Toronto Zoo to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) in Colorado Springs in March 2023, was suffering from a dental condition that required surgery.
Minutes after receiving the anesthesia and lying down, Mila slipped off the bench, which was only waist-high, and suffered from a fatal spinal injury.
"It was impossible from a human safety standpoint to stop her tragic fall," the zoo said in a statement.
The zoo's medical team entered the tiger's den as soon as it was safe to do so, but she perished despite receiving life-saving care for 40 minutes.
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Right amount of drug
CMZ Zoo president and CEO Bob Chastain said the medical team had given the "right amount of drugs to a very calm tiger who had trained for this moment."
He went on to say that many tigers had been securely anaesthetized in the same den in the past.
"We never take decisions to anaesthetize an animal for a procedure lightly, and this is a tragic example of why," he added.
Mila is the second female Amur tiger to die in the zoo since 2021.
Another tiger named Savelli died due to problems following recovery from an artificial insemination treatment.
The deaths of the two tigers were unrelated, but the zoo stated that the "fragile state of their species is glaring."
"It is sobering to know that no matter how tragic these events are, that we are losing tigers in the wild every day as these animals, and many like them, struggle to survive in a world where there are so many people and so few wild places," Chastain added.
Amur tigers are highly endangered in the wild, with only about 500 tigers remaining in their natural habitats. The number of animals in human care in zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in the United States and Canada is close to 100.
It was on the verge of extinction in the 1940s, with fewer than 50 individuals left in the wild. This was owing to the Russian Revolution and the founding of the Soviet Union, which resulted in decades of practically continuous political instability.
Arrival of Mila in CMZoo
Mila moved to the zoo in March 2023, after demonstrating in Toronto Zoo that she was ready for her own habitat apart from her mother.
She arrived at CMZoo based on a breeding recommendation. She never met CMZoo's male tiger, Chewy, because Amur tigers are solitary animals.
Rebecca Zwicker, animal care manager in Asian Highlands at CMZoo, described Mila as an intelligent and feisty tiger, and that the zoo is patiently training her on a consistent basis to help her settle in and make her feel comfortable in blth the indoor and outdoor spaces they have.
Mila had been working with the team on numerous critical husbandry behaviors that would allow her to enjoy a life at the Zoo with plenty of choice, autonomy, and care. She was focused on moving around easily and returning to keepers when called.
Related Article: The Race to Save the Amur Tiger [EXCLUSIVE]
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