By Sharron Luttrell

The Southwick Zoo community is mourning the loss of Taj, the 18 ½-year-old white Bengal tiger who had been a favorite with visitors since she was a cub.

Taj’s health had been failing and she struggled with arthritis that made it difficult for her to move. Her caretakers made the decision to euthanize her Monday after she stopped eating. 

“It’s always a hard call, but to see an animal suffering is even harder,” Southwick Zoological Director Betsey Brewer said. “Her caretakers were devastated, obviously. They took care of her every single day.”

A tiger’s average lifespan in the wild is 12-15 years, but they can live up to 20 years in captivity when they have consistent access to food, clean water and veterinary care, Brewer said.

Taj and her orange-and-brown striped sister, Kya, were bred in captivity at the World Wildlife Zoo in Arizona before coming to Southwick’s. Unlike Kya, who Brewer said will stalk you the moment you turn your back, Taj was laid back. On hot summer days, she’d lounge beside her enclosure’s waterfall or wade in the pool.

“Taj was just more mellow than Kya. The zookeepers were very drawn to her,” Brewer said, adding that her son, Seth, helped habituate her to her new home when she was young. 

White tigers like Taj are rare and have been nonexistent in the wild since the last one was killed in the late 1950s. Their coloration is the result of a recessive gene that also makes them prone to being cross-eyed. The lack of camouflage and poor depth-perception make them poor hunters.

Bengal tigers are considered endangered, with the species threatened by habitat loss, climate change, and poachers who sell their body parts for medicinal purposes. There are an estimated 5,500 wild tigers in the world with far more living in captivity, according to the World Wildife Fund. 

With Taj gone, Kya is expected to be content as an only cat, Brewer said. Tigers don’t typically live together and it would be unsafe to introduce a new one to the enclosure. The zookeepers did give Kya the option of saying goodbye to Taj after she was euthanized, but the tiger just “kind of walked away,” Brewer said.

(photos above and below courtesy of Southwick’s Zoo)