‘Spirited’ tiger dies at North Carolina rescue after tumors spread. ‘A tough goodbye’

A rescue in North Carolina had to say “a tough goodbye” to its “incredibly spirited” tiger, officials said.

A “very chuffly and excitable” tiger named Tasha had mammary tumors the rescue was initially able to remove, according to a Jan. 3 Facebook post by Carolina Tiger Rescue Assistant Director Kathryn Bertok.

The nonprofit quickly learned the cancer had potentially metastasized to other parts of her body, and she was put on palliative care, leaving her “great” and “her normal happy self” for months, the Pittsboro-based rescue said.

Then her abdomen became “distended” and wounds formed around her legs that made it hard for her to keep her back legs tucked under, causing her to drop off one of her ankles, Bertok said.

Although rescue staff members treated her for inflammation and kept her on medication to prevent any infection, they knew it was “time to say goodbye,” Bertok said.

Tasha was never hesitant to say hello, and although a “bit possessive of her water dish,” she was curious and easily entertained, Bertok said.

The rescue said Tasha was one of the sanctuary’s “top three tigers for chuffling,” a way of communicating with other tigers.

“This loss is just as hard as any loss, even though we knew we were living on borrowed time. We don’t always have this kind of time to prepare, but that time allowed us to spoil Tasha and gave people who loved her a chance to say goodbye,” Bertok said. “While her body had failed, her spirit had not.”

Pittsboro is about a 40-mile drive southwest of Raleigh.

This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 5:38 PM with the headline "‘Spirited’ tiger dies at North Carolina rescue after tumors spread. ‘A tough goodbye’."