MIAMI — An elderly Sumatran tiger at Zoo Miami is being remembered after being euthanized following the discovery that he had cancer of the spleen late Thursday afternoon, according to a news release.
A spokesperson for the zoo said Berani, the 15-year-old tiger, had recently been lethargic and had lost his appetite.
A series of tests initially indicated that he was severely anemic and dehydrated. However, additional tests and procedures, including radiographs, ultrasounds, blood and urine collection, revealed he had cancer.
"Sadly, due to his advanced age and an extremely poor prognosis for any improvement, the very difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize him to provide him the dignity in death that he displayed throughout his life," the zoo wrote in a statement.
Zoo Miami remembers Berani the tiger
Berani was born at the San Francisco Zoo in March 2008 and came to Zoo Miami via the Montgomery Zoo in Alabama in 2013 as part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommendation, the zoo explained.
He was paired with a female named “Leeloo” and successfully sired a male cub named “Satu” in 2015 along with a female cub named “Ndari” in 2021.
The zoo said there are believed to be less than 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, where they are found in forested areas on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Their biggest threats are habitat loss to palm oil plantations and poaching. They are the smallest subspecies of tiger, with males reaching up to 300 pounds and females closer to 200 pounds.
