Longtime Riverbanks Zoo resident Vitali the tiger mourned by officials
A tiger who lived at Columbia’s Riverbanks Zoo & Garden for nearly a decade has died.
“The Riverbanks family is deeply saddened by the loss of our male Amur tiger Vitali,” zoo officials said in a Facebook post.
Vitali was a longtime resident at the zoo, spending the past nine years at the Columbia sanctuary.
He was called “a tremendous ambassador for his species,” who amazed Riverbanks’ visitors “with his beauty, presence, and massive size,” according to the post.
Officials said the 14-year-old tiger had mobility issues and was euthanized Monday, WLTX reported.
The tiger was remembered fondly as grumpy but playful.
“Vitali’s favorite enrichment included small, squishy items that could easily be pounced and poked,” one of the zoo’s animal care supervisors said in the post. “Vitali also had a big appetite — loving quail and rabbit. He also enjoyed a good, long cat nap, especially on a giant fluffy bed.
“He had a grumpy, but sweet presence often greeting Koshka, the female tiger, with low grumbles and sweet loving eyes.”
Amur, or Siberian, tigers are the largest living cat, but are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because of poaching and habitat destruction, according to Riverbanks Zoo.
There are an estimated 450 Amur tigers in the wild and 150 in captivity in zoos in the U.S., officials said. Riverbanks Zoo has maintained and bred tigers since the facility opened in 1974.
Amur tigers live 10 to 14 years in the wild, but in captivity their average life expectancy is 14-16 years, according to the Oregon Zoo.
There was no word if the zoo would seek to find another male Amur tiger.
“Vitali will be greatly missed by Koshka, his keepers, and the entire Riverbanks community,” officials said.
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This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 7:56 AM.
