[FEL-L] India: Zoo euthanizes elderly snow leopards

[SOUTHZOO at aol.com]

Zoo euthanizes elderly snow leopards

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. ・Two snow leopards that had grown old  during their years at 
the Potawatomi Zoo were euthanized after their infirmities  became too 
numerous, zoo officials said.
       
Meesha, a 16-year-old female, and Porthos, a 17-year-old  male, were put to 
sleep within a week of each other in late spring, but word of  the leopards・
deaths only recently reached the public.
General curator Laura Arriage said the zoo痴 staff were  saddened by the 
animals・passing.
典hey池e just beautiful animals. You get to know their  personalities. It痴 
hard,・she said.

In captivity, snow leopards・lifespan  is about 17 years. In the wild, they 
would likely not live as long because weak  animals are usually attacked or 
eaten by other animals.

Necropsies, which  are autopsies in animals, revealed that both snow leopards 
had suffered from  joint problems and kidney failure.

Meesha had ovarian cysts, and Porthos  suffered from lung cancer and thyroid 
problems. The leopards came to the zoo in  1993 from separate zoos. The pair 
did not produce any offspring, but another  male was brought in and Meesha gave 
birth to a male and female.
 
_http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060729/LOCAL/60729002_ 
(http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060729/LOCAL/60729002) 


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