Moncton’s Tomar the tiger dies
Bruce Dougan, General Manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo and the City of Moncton are saddened to announce that Tomar, the Zoo’s Siberian tiger passed away this afternoon. The decision was made to euthanize the tiger to avoid any unnecessary suffering or pain.
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In January 2007, Zoo staff reported the sudden illness of its Siberian tiger. Tomar was diagnosed to be in the early stages of renal failure. He was immediately placed under veterinary care, and was monitored closely by zoo staff. At the time, the veterinarian stated that Tomar could live anywhere from 1 month to 1 year. Tomar enjoyed nearly one full year of healthy living, before passing away today.
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“Our goal all along was to keep Tomar from suffering”, explained Bruce Dougan, General Manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo. “Up until recently, Tomar maintained a healthy quality of life, and did not experience extreme pain. It became evident this week, however, that this was no longer the case, and Tomar was experiencing more and more pain. While this was a difficult decision, we know it was the right one. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.”
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“We recently noticed that Tomar had lost an increased amount of body mass”, added veterinarian Dr. André Saindon. “This loss in weight and the increasing cold conditions, made it harder for Tomar to fight his illness. We saw increased vomiting and urinating, and knew that the tiger was progressively getting worse. Upon discussion between myself, other healthcare providers, and Zoo staff, we knew that we could no longer let Tomar suffer, and made the decision to euthanize.”
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Tomar was born on November 14, 1988 at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He arrived at the Magnetic Hill Zoo as a five month old cub in April of 1989. The Zoo’s only tiger was 19 years old; tigers typically live from 18-25 years in captivity.
