White Tiger Wukong at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden died of illness

After 10 years of being raised, the white tiger at Saigon Zoo named Ngo Khong died of illness.

Medical examination of white tiger at Saigon Zoo named Ngo Khong - Photo: Saigon Zoo

The white tiger named Ngo Khong was born at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden on July 8, 2015. The white Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a homozygous recessive mutation in the male and female tigers.

White Tiger Wukong had a tiger brother named Milk Cow and another brother. His brother died at an early age of less than 6 months due to a congenital digestive tract defect.

The mother tiger did not have enough milk to take care of two cubs at the same time, so Milk Cow was separated and fed formula milk. Wukong lived with his mother. Later, his mother passed away and Wukong lived alone.

More than 2 weeks ago, Wukong started showing symptoms of illness, refusing all types of food provided, and had increasingly difficult digestion.

The Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden's veterinary team coordinated with invited experts for consultation. In recent days, it seemed that Ngo Khong had recovered, was able to happily walk around the cage and eat all of the food provided for the day.

However, on July 7, Wukong became very tired during the night and died shortly after at the age of 10.

White Tiger Wukong when he was still healthy - Photo: LE PHAN

According to Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, most cases of homozygous recessive gene mutations cause defects in the body. Some external manifestations may or may not be clearly visible, affecting the function of some organs in the body.

In white Bengal tigers, people have recorded problems with vision, poor eyesight, weakened immune system, bone and joint malformations, kidney, nerves, sensitivity to sunlight... making it difficult to survive in the wild as well as in controlled breeding environments.

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LE PHAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ho-trang-ngo-khong-o-thao-cam-vien-sai-gon-chet-vi-benh-20250708091631362.htm