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May 28, 2008

Cheetah's long life in Providence comes to end

Journal file photo
Cheetahs Togo and Kiffa at Roger Williams Park Zoo in 1997.

PROVIDENCE -- One of Roger Williams Park Zoo’s most popular residents was euthanized earlier this week after a long bout with arthritis, according to spokeswoman Laura Dunn.

Togo the cheetah, who was just three weeks shy of his 16th birthday, had lived a long life –– longer than most cheetahs, who live an average of 8 to 12 years in the wild, and a few years longer in captivity. He was, Dunn said, one of the oldest surviving of his kind in North America.

Togo, who came to the zoo as a yearling in 1993, was one of visitors’ favorite attractions, the zoo said.

Last June, he had a two-hour operation for arthritis on his right front leg after showing discomfort for two years. Veterinarians fused what is the cheetah equivalent of the animal’s wrist joint in an attempt to alleviate pain.

“The surgery worked,” Dunn said. And Togo, the zoo’s only cheetah, had another good year.

But last week, she said, Togo’s caretakers noticed his limp had become more pronounced. By Sunday he wasn’t even using the leg and on Monday, veterinarians found another fracture.

Caretakers and doctors had to make a decision, Dunn said. “’Do we put this animal through another surgery? And the rehab that’s involved after that?’”

“And what’s his quality of life going to be after that?” she asked rhetorically.

“It was a hard decision to make.”

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 1:16 PM | Permalink

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JT GORHAM | May 28, 2008 1:52 PM link

Dan | May 28, 2008 5:29 PM link

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