John Ball Zoo Snow Leopard Dies After Battle With Cancer
Mi-Shan, the 18-year-old snow leopard that has been at the John Ball Zoo since 2002, has passed away after a year-long battle with cancer.
FOX-17 reports that Mi-Shan actually lived longer than a typical snow leopard, noting that zoo staff told them that snow leopards typically only live to be 14 or 15.
After a year of cancer treatment, Mi-Shan's soft tissue sarcoma became much more aggressive last week, and the zoo had to make the decision to have her humanely euthanized.
Snow leopards are endangered, and Mi-Shan was part of the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan. WOOD-TV8 reports that there are estimated to be less than 7,000 snow leopards currently living in the wild.
In a Facebook post, the zoo said that Mi-Shan "was a wonderful ambassador for snow leopards in the wild, and her legacy will never be forgotten."