Naveen’s Passing

February 10, 2026

Our hearts are still heavy with the grief of all our recent losses, and we had to say another difficult goodbye to Naveen Tiger.

Our time with Naveen was, sadly, cut much shorter than we could’ve anticipated. We first noticed things were off around the middle of December. He holed up in a denbox for a couple of days and wasn’t interested in food, so we sedated him to perform a physical. While he was under, we were able to run bloodwork and didn’t find anything notable. We gave him fluids for dehydration and injectable medications to help with GI upset, and then we woke him back up. Over the next few weeks, we continued to monitor Naveen. He was unsteady in his back end and slow moving, but he was eating and taking his meds. Each day, he started to seem more like himself, but he was never 100%. Then, we saw a significant decline. He stopped taking his medications and was eating very little, so we knew we needed to get him sedated again. Other than being very dehydrated, we had no indication of what was going on that could lead to neurological symptoms. Sadly, that led us to suspect cancer or a brain tumor, and we no longer had a way to keep him comfortable. With that, we made the decision to euthanize him. Lab results showed that he had a non-infectious inflammatory response that caused damage to his brain. It also appeared that he had one or more strokes.
Through all of this, Naveen remained excited to see his favorite people. He was a social tiger who loved a visitor, and even on his worst days, he would chuffle when a keeper approached. He has always been a talkative tiger, even when he first arrived after being rescued from Tiger King Park, a roadside zoo in Oklahoma.

Naveen lived in a few different enclosures throughout his time here, but his favorite ones were on the tour path. Naveen lived in a sanctuary however, and he frequently exercised his right to choose not to be visible on tour; he just wanted the option to be seen. When staff and volunteers went past the tour gate for a visit though, he came up reliably. If he had to walk through mud to get to you, he would be very dramatic, but he would do it. And then you’d be greeted by a chuffle and tiger fur flying at you as he rubbed up against the fence. From his light orange color, to his nose freckles, to the scar on his snout, we will miss seeing Naveen around. We feel every loss, but it’s even more noticeable when we lose such a charismatic and silly presence.

When we rescue an animal, we make a commitment to care for them for the rest of their life. Unfortunately, some of those lives don’t feel nearly long enough. Nevertheless, their story is important, and we will continue to share it. From providing sanctuary to letting him go peacefully, it was an honor to be a part of Naveen’s story.

With a heavy heart,
Kathryn Bertok
Assistant Director