Zoo Miami Forced To Euthanize Ailing Tiger

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A tiger seen by millions of visitors to Zoo Miami has been euthanized.

A preliminary necropsy revealed that "Roshe," a female tiger, was suffering from renal failure most likely due to her advanced age of 19 years and 4 months. In the wild, tigers have an average lifespan of approximately 10 – 12 years.

Born in captivity on November 1, 1992, Roshe arrived at Zoo Miami on February 18, 1994. She was one of two tigers on display in the zoo's iconic "Tiger Temple" exhibit. Her exhibit mate, "Carlita," the zoo's nearly 20-year-old lone white tiger, is also in declining health and has been transferred to a special off-exhibit area where she can rest and live out the remainder of her life in peace and quiet.

The Tiger Temple will now be the home to the zoo's pair of highly endangered Malayan tigers, a 7-year-old male named, "Hati" and a 12-year-old female named, "Tevy." The hope is to introduce the pair to each other in the near future with the ultimate goal of producing offspring to contribute to a very carefully planned captive breeding program.