COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – A rare and endangered Amur tiger has died at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo following a mating session with another tiger.
The tigers had been breeding Wednesday when the encounter turned violent and zookeepers used a fire extinguisher to separate the pair.
The 8-year-old tiger Zoya was treated immediately after the incident, but later died from a cut to her neck. The other tiger, Ivan, wasn’t seriously injured.
The animals only had positive breeding interactions before Wednesday. tiger breeding in captivity and the wild can be volatile, leading to fights and fatalities.
