The oldest white tiger in any accredited North American zoo has died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Twenty two year old Akere lost his battle with oral cancer Thursday.
In this blog post the zoo says, "He was in renal failure and had severe arthritis in his hips. We provided supportive care and medication to ease his pain, but it was clear that his quality of life was not going to improve." He died surrounded by "people who loved and cared for him," according to the zoo.
Akere came to Cincinnati from the Nashville Zoo in 1996 when he was nine months old. Keepers describe him as having a great personality and being a great ambassador. They say he was affectionate with keepers and made it known to his companion Popsy that he was in charge and always got the prime sleeping spot.
