CINCINNATI — Chira, the Malayan tiger, and one of fewer than 400 members of her species left in the world, was euthanized due to “persistent and worsening health issues” that intensified throughout her short life, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden announced Saturday. She was 4 years old.

“It’s never easy to lose an animal ambassador, but Chira was an especially hard loss,” wrote one of her keepers. “Ever since she was born, she had health problems. She always seemed to have at least one thing going wrong for her even when we thought we had her all figured out. But none of that ever stopped Chira from being happy.”

Chira was named after her earliest health struggle: When she was a cub, she needed an unusual veterinary visit from Cincinnati chiropractor Mark Sperbeck to help straighten her spine.

She and her sisters, Batari and Izzy, had all been rejected by their mother shortly after their birth in 2017, leaving their upbringing to human keepers and the zoo’s longtime nanny dog, Blakely. The trauma of their birth likely contributed to her spinal problems, according to Sperbeck.

Because Malayan tigers are critically endangered, per the international Red List of Threatened Species, zookeepers hoped the trio could eventually have cubs of their own and contribute to their species’ survival.

But Chira began experiencing seizures around the time of her second birthday. The zoo sent her for a veterinary MRI, which provided no information about their cause — it was not a physical abnormality, according to zoo veterinarian Mark Campbell. The zoo requested that visitors avoid flash photography when taking pictures of her, temporarily separated her from her sisters and removed potentially dangerous items from Chira’s enclosure.

Chira was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy and put on multiple medications to help manage her seizures, according to the zoo’s blog post commemorating International Tiger Day 2020.

Despite her health problems, her keeper wrote, “she still loved to interact with keepers during training sessions. She still loved to roll her whole body in paint whenever we painted with her. She still climbed to the top of her enrichment pole to get her bunny (the first of her sisters to do so). Nothing could stop her doing what she wanted and what she loved. Even when she didn’t always feel her best, she would still chuff (a happy tiger noise) more than any other tiger, earning her the nickname ‘Chuffers.’”

Her epilepsy also made her a unique animal ambassador to visitors with epilepsy, according to her keeper.

“Chira made a huge impact on everyone who met her,” the keeper wrote. “All the keepers and vets grew so close to her through her many procedures and medical training sessions. There were times she felt awful and didn’t want any food and yet still did all her training to help us take the best care of her possible. I’ve had so many guests tell me about their experiences with epilepsy and how Chira inspired them. She was truly one of our greatest ambassadors, and to say she will be missed is an understatement.

"This was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever had to make, and yet I am so happy I had the chance to work with her. She taught me to make the best out of every situation and to never stop chuffing.”

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden broke ground Tuesday on its biggest-ever construction project: Elephant Trek, a new elephant habitat that will enable the zoo to support a larger-than-ever herd of Asian elephants when it opens in 2024.

Elephant Trek will be “a spectacular five-acre landscape of habitat and gardens with engaging features for humans and animals alike,” according to press materials from the zoo’s $150 million More Home to Roam expansion program. That five-acre span will make the habitat five times the size of the current elephant enclosure, and zoo leaders hope to fill it with a multi-generational herd of Asian elephants.

“Elephant Trek will provide a 24-hour experience that meets the Asian elephant’s complex, daily needs — mentally, socially, behaviorally and physically — supporting a global conservation effort to save this endangered species,” per the latest More Home to Roam update.

But where does a landlocked zoo in the middle of Cincinnati find five spare acres to make it happen? In an existing parking lot. The planned construction of a guest parking garage to compensate for the loss of the lot has been postponed until the zoo reaches pre-COVID-19 attendance numbers.

Zoo director Thane Maynard thanked donors for supporting the More Home to Roam campaign, which has also funded the construction of new kangaroo and penguin habitats since its launch in 2018.

“Donations of all sizes make a difference and mean a lot to us and the elephants,” he said.

The zoo is dedicated to providing an environment in which elephants can participate in natural elephant behavior, such as playing, dusting and bathing, while forming social bonds with one another as they would in the wild.

This project is exceptional, according to the zoo, because many major zoo programs are phasing out their elephant habitats. The Cincinnati Zoo wants to invest in, rather than divest from, its elephant population.

“By creating a bigger space for a bigger herd of elephants to thrive, we are making a big commitment to Asian elephant breeding and conservation that will demonstrate to our visitors the power and beauty of co-existence for animals and humans,” said zoo chair Francie Hilz at the groundbreaking.

The habitat will be eco-friendly, too, according to zoo spokeswoman Michelle Curley: “Elements built into Elephant Trek, including stormwater tanks that will hold 1 million gallons of water, will actually help the zoo reduce expenses and achieve its goal to be net zero by 2025. It also has plans to convert elephant poop, and the rest of the zoo’s organic waste, to a soil supplement that will help it grow the food that the elephants eat.”