So Long

My favorite animal at the Lincoln Park Zoo passed away the week before the 4th of July.

Yiet Yang was the oldest of only 136 snow leopards living in accredited zoos in North America. At 19 years of age, this cool cat suffered from chronic renal failure and a worsening lameness in her rear legs. Yiet was having trouble standing (and even keeping any balance) and had declined to such a state that the zoo felt the most compassionate thing for the animal was to euthanize her.

Yiet had spent almost all of her 19 years at LPZ (beyond the 15-year average life span of a wild snow leopard), having come to Chicago within a year of her birth in San Francisco. Whether you like zoos or not, this animal was a spectacular cat to see and always maintained the cool, edgy attitude of a wild cat.

I don't ever feel truly comfortable with zoos, but when they are well run and the habitats are given due consideration, the attempt at preservation and understanding does have some merit. Sadly, there are a lot of geriatrics at the LPZ lion house, including the black leopard, Marta, who will soon turn 19 as well. I'll have to get out and see how she's doing. It'll also give me a chance to view the wild roaming herds of asinine people.