One of the Central Coast Zoo’s beloved animals has passed away.
Menderu, a 17-year-old Malayan tiger, who has been a favorite at the zoo since his arrival as a cub from the San Diego zoo in 2008 passed away Wednesday morning. The Central Coast Zoo says his age was average in professional care, and well beyond the average lifespan in the wild.
Zoo director, Dr. Cynthia Stringfield says “Menderu has been a treasured part of our zoo family since 2008… the staff mourns him deeply as he wasn’t just an animal in our care, he was family.” The Central Coast Zoo said Menderu’s health had started to decline rapidly in the past few weeks, and his condition worsened even as he was cared for around-the-clock. The cause of his death will be released in the weeks to come.
The zoo says Menderu contributed greatly to their understanding of Malayan tigers, and played a key role in their mission of education and conservation.
To make a donation toward the habitat expansion in memory of Menderu, you can visit: centralcoastzoo.org.
