NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

August 2, 2010
Vol. 40, No. 264

For more information contact Nancy Falasco, Brandywine Zoo Director, 302-571-7788 ext. 201; or Beth Shockley, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Brandywine Zoo's Siberian Tiger, Ashley, mourned

Ashley, the female Siberian tiger at the Brandywine Zoo, was humanely euthanized Saturday July 31, surrounded by her personal zookeepers and long-time veterinarian. The 20-year old tiger suffered complications from a brief illness and was unable to be saved.

“Ashley had been very ill, and we were unable to save her after her condition rapidly deteriorated,” said Brandywine Zoo Director Nancy Falasco.

The much-loved Siberian tiger was put into a deep sleep and euthanized by a veterinarian from the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School. A post mortem examination will be conducted on the tiger before cremation. 

Tigers in the wild have a life span of 10 to 12 years. In captivity, longevity may reach as high as 20 years. Falasco said Ashley’s long life of 20 years is a tribute to the good care she received at both the Brandywine Zoo and the St. Louis Zoo, where she was born July 21, 1990.

Siberian tigers are an endangered species, with approximately 200 individuals known to exist in the wild. Their geographic range is northern China, Korea to southeastern Siberia.  For centuries, tigers have been admired for their fierce hunting skills, their impressive markings and their ability to survive in both forest and jungle habitats. But like other endangered species, tigers are threatened by an increasing human population, poaching and lack of available prey.  Zoos and other conservation groups have long been concerned with the decrease in wild populations and have developed many different programs to combat these problems.

“Ashley came to the Brandywine Zoo when she was five years of age,” Falasco said. She was housed with an older tiger name Kublai Khan. After Khan’s death years later, she was paired with Sergei, a hand-reared tiger that preferred to interact with people more than with other tigers. Their relationship was long but fraught with growls and the occasional fight. Through the help of the Delaware Zoological Society an additional enclosure was built for Ashley to reside in and to keep the tigers separated. Their relationship persisted with a protective fence between them. Sergei died in June of 2007.

“The Brandywine Zoo staff, members and admirers will miss Ashley greatly,” Falasco said.