SEATTLE - Woodland Park Zoo euthanized its 16-year-old male cougar over the weekend after the aging cat’s health declined rapidly on Saturday. The cat’s sudden loss of appetite and apparent signs of discomfort prompted zoo veterinarians to immobilize the cat for an examination. He was euthanized during the procedure due to advanced kidney failure.

“ Declining kidney function is an expected age-related change in older cats. The cougar had compromised kidney function detected earlier through routine blood value screening and had been under health surveillance since last year,” explained Woodland Park Zoo Associate Veterinarian Dr. Kelly Helmick. “We had been vigilantly monitoring his health and treating him for chronic arthritis. The examination confirmed severe arthritis and advanced kidney disease. The quality of his life would have been severely compromised, therefore, we made the humane decision to euthanize the geriatric cat.”

The cougar was the sole survivor of a twin male, which died four years ago. The twins were orphaned in the wild and placed in the care of Woodland Park Zoo in 1989. The zoo rehabilitated the underweight cubs and exhibited the pair in the Feline House, now called the Adaptations Building.

Cougars are the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, ranging from northwestern Canada to Patagonia, South America. Cougar populations are vanishing from large areas throughout the Western Hemisphere. As humans move into established cougar territories for agricultural and residential purposes, negative human/cougar encounters increase. Cougar attacks escalate as humans build homes and recreate in once remote cougar habitat. As a result, these predators are increasingly viewed as dangerous pests that must be exterminated.

Visitors may enjoy other big cats at the zoo such as snow leopards, African lions and jaguars.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.