Hani, the two-year-old Siberian tiger at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, died of massive heart failure.
“The preliminary results of the necropsy indicated an accumulation of fluid and fibrin in the chest. This pathological finding is most often caused by an infection, said Dr. Bruce Burton, the zoo’s veterinarian.
“However, upon closer inspection, this turned out not to be the case with Hani. She died as a result of significant left-sided heart failure caused by an unclassified form of Cardio-myopathy, a chronic and poorly understood genetic disease of the heart muscle.”
Burton said many domestic cats and some breeds of dogs suffer from similar forms of Cardiomyopathy and it is almost always associated with sudden death.
“Sadly, there are no warning signs with this disease and no successful treatment protocols,” he said.
Hani’s sister Hana still remains at the zoo.
Earlier this year, the zoo’s oldest Siberian tiger died. Sweetie was 18 years old and was born at the zoo.