Why does it seem like a lot of Zoo animals have died recently?
The National Zoo houses more than 2,600 animals comprising 420 species. With a large collection that includes animals ranging from butterflies and bears to turtles and toucans, the fact is that we experience new life and death almost daily. The mortality rate of our collection has remained consistent over the past several years; the Zoo has not experienced an unusually high number of animal deaths recently. In general, zoo animals live longer than their counterparts in the wild. When animals live at a zoo, they generally receive vaccinations and other medical treatments, have a consistent and healthy food supply, and are free from predators – all of which wild animals do not have. For example, a wild cheetah can live to about eight years old. However, Zoo veterinarians recently lost an ailing cheetah who had lived to the age of 13 – a full five years longer than she would have lived on the African savanna. While it’s great to have animals around longer than they would live in the wild,
