The Indianapolis Zoo announced Monday that another tiger cub has died, their third such loss since the beginning of 2023.
In a post shared to Facebook, the zoo announced that Helina, a 15-month-old tiger cub, died as a result of a liver defect that also killed her brothers, Roman and Nicholas. (RELATED: All Five Meerkats Mysteriously Die At Philadelphia Zoo)
“She was well cared for and loved and will be greatly missed by all our staff, volunteers and visitors. Please keep our team in your thoughts,” the caption read.
Helina was euthanized as her condition continued to deteriorate.
The cubs were born on May 27, 2022, and debuted to the public on Sept 17., according to WRTV.
Roman was the first of the three siblings to pass away from the congenital defect, the outlet reported. Even after receiving surgery to repair the defect, Roman’s health continued to worsen, and he died in September.
Nicolas passed away three months later, when the zoo’s veterinary and animal care team euthanized him to end his suffering, according to WRTV. He was named after a veterinary assistant who aided in the tiger cubs’ birth.
“The birth of Amur tiger cubs is extremely important. With fewer than 100 Amur tigers in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, our cubs are important to maintaining a healthy genetic and sustainable population. In the wild, habitat loss, human-tiger conflict and poaching are leading to declines in Amur tiger populations. They’ve lost almost 95% of their territories – one tiger has a large individual territory,” the Indianapolis Zoo said on the web page for the cubs.