The world's oldest Sumatran tiger has died at Hamilton Zoo today, aged 23.
Mencari, who was born at Wellington Zoo in 2000, celebrated her milestone birthday in January.
The zoo took to social media today to mourn "the loss of a very special girl".
"While 23 years is a remarkable milestone for a tiger, Mencari had remained active and relatively spritely until recently," the zoo wrote on Facebook.
"The keepers and vet team have been closely monitoring her and noticed she was slowing down and her usual sassy spirit was no longer there. It became clear it was time to step in to ensure she did not suffer.
"The difficult decision was made to euthanise her earlier today, in the company of staff who loved and cared for her."
The "grand old lady" was remembered by her keepers as "a real character with a good dose of attitude, she enjoyed laying around soaking up the sunshine and loved a blood ice block on a hot day".
In 2001, Mencari was moved to a purpose-built habitat at Hamilton Zoo with her siblings, Jaka and Molek, at 14 months as part of an Australasian breeding programme.
The critically endangered Sumatran tiger population continues to decline, with less than 400 estimated to be living in the wild due to habitat destruction and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.
"The passing of one of our animals is always hard. We are kaitiaki of these beautiful taonga and while we feel the loss deeply, it is our responsibility to ensure the animals in our care do not suffer."
SHARE ME