One of world’s rarest tigers dies at age 20, Georgia zoo says. ‘Heartbreaking’

A zoo in Georgia euthanized a 20-year-old tiger with kidney disease, officials said.

Chelsea, a Sumatran tigress, arrived at Zoo Atlanta’s John P. Imlay Tiger Habitat in 2006, according to an April 10 Facebook post by the zoo.

“This is a devastating loss for Chelsea’s care team and for Zoo Atlanta. Chelsea was a magnificent cat with a tremendous legacy here at the Zoo,” Sam Rivera, vice president of animal health, said.

Chelsea had been being monitored by the zoo’s medical team for chronic health conditions, including kidney disease, officials said.

After the crew determined Chelsea wouldn’t be able to recover, she was euthanized, zoo officials said.

The Sumatran tiger is “one of the world’s rarest tiger subspecies” and has a lifespan of 10 to 12 years when in the wild, officials said. There are fewer than 400 in the wild.

“While decisions like these are always heartbreaking and are never easy, our teams had reached a point where we knew that this was the most responsible and compassionate decision for Chelsea,” Rivera said.

This story was originally published April 11, 2024 at 2:07 PM with the headline "One of world’s rarest tigers dies at age 20, Georgia zoo says. ‘Heartbreaking’."