Cougar dies of heart disease at Forestry Farm Park and Zoo

There is only one cougar left at Saskatoon’s Forestry Farm Park and Zoo after zookeepers discovered one of the pair dead on Sunday.

Jethro, 11, was found laying in his heated shelter area unresponsive. Examinations revealed the cougar died of hypertrophic cardiac disease, a common heart condition in both big cats and humans.

The cougar hadn’t shown any signs of being ill.

“Saturday he went through his training, he ate, he was interacting with (his brother) Malcolm perfectly fine and everything,” zoo manager Jeff Mitchell told 650 CKOM.

He explained the genetic heart condition that afflicted Jethro is in effect a thickening of the heart muscles, which is very hard to detect.

“Usually there’s very few signs or symptoms. Most people who have it don’t even know they have it, and it can just lead to a sudden cardiac arrest,” he said.

Jethro was brought to the zoo with his brother Malcolm as a cub. The pair came from Cypress Hills Provincial Park, and have lived together since.

Mitchell said the cougar’s loss came as a shock to some of the zoo staff, who have worked with the big cat since he arrived in Saskatoon.

But he said the attention immediately turned to the surviving cougar to ensure minimal impact of the loss.

“Malcolm was looking for Jethro,” Mitchell said. “But we’ve made sure we’ve gone out of our way to give him some extra attention and extra training and extra keeper interaction during this time.”

He noted Jethro fell within the average lifespan of a cougar, which is between nine and 13 years.

With Malcolm also at the age of 11, there are no plans to bring in a companion.

“That would be a really, really dangerous situation,” Mitchell said. “It just would not end well.”

Zookeepers will also be keeping an eye on Malcolm, as he could have the same genetic heart defect as his brother.