March 16
By Joey Klecka
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Kunali, an Amur tiger who had taken up residence at the Alaska Zoo since 2008, has died, according to zoo officials.
The 19-year-old tiger arrived at the Alaska Zoo with his brother Korol in 2008 from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, as part of a species protection and survival plan in conjunction with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The Alaska Zoo said in a post that Kunali died “peacefully in his sleep due to complications of old age.”
Korol died last year, also from old age, according to the zoo.
Zoo staff said as a native species of Russia, China, and Korea, the two tiger siblings thrived in the Alaska environment, and brought countless visitors joy and education about tiger species. Zoo officials said they are working to bring Amur tigers back to their facility in the future.
According to the zoo website, Amur tigers are chiefly native to the Amur-Ussuri river region in eastern Russia. Their diet consists of mostly deer and wild pigs.