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Sumatran tiger
Fun with Molek the Tiger at Auckland Zoo by Mike Coleman, Veterinarian Specialist Group
Molek is a 10-year-old female Sumatran tiger, so named as they are only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. There are an estimated 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild – they are endangered as a result of deforestation for palm oil as well as poachers. Molek is part of a captive breeding programme at Auckland Zoo and her three cubs born there are well known by the general public.
Molek’s keepers became concerned when she started showing signs of increased respiratory rate and effort, particularly after exercise. As she was due to be anaesthetised for some routine health work, radiology specialist Dr Chris Warman and medicine specialist Dr Mike Coleman were asked to perform further diagnostic procedures to investigate her 'exercise intolerance'.
Molek is a truly magnificent animal, even more so when you get as close to her as we did. An echocardiogram was performed by Chris Warman. This showed no evidence of underlying heart disease. Radiographs of the lungs were also unremarkable. A bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed by Mike Coleman. (For the non-veterinarian this is a procedure where a long tube is placed down into the lungs. Sterile saline is injected and cells are collected in the saline for analysis). Results showed increased numbers of inflammatory cells in the lungs. It is likely that Molek has chronic bronchitis – inflamed airways as a result of allergens or pollutants in the air.
Fortunately Molek has stopped showing signs of exercise intolerance without any treatment. We are using inhaled human asthma medications a lot for this problem in domestic cats – this would obviously not be possible in a tiger!
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