A male Pallas’ cat, one of the oldest of his species in human care, has died at Utah’s Hogle Zoo.
Petenka died Sunday after experiencing seizures, the Salt Lake City zoo said Wednesday. He was 13 years old, and was the second-oldest Pallas’ cat in human care, passing the species’ average lifespan in the wild of 11 years.
Petenka was under close veterinary care for the last few months, after his zoo team and a neurologist evaluated him for periodic seizures. Petenka, nicknamed “Potato” by the care team, was receiving oral anti-seizure medication, had been moved to a redesigned habitat, and was being closely monitored, the zoo said in a news release.
Pallas’ cats are native to the grasslands of Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau, the zoo said. They are well adapted to cold, arid climates, preferring stony highland areas and alpine deserts at elevations up to 13,000 feet.
Petenka — known for his hops of excitement and a penchant for lounging in his den — arrived at Hogle Zoo in 2015, on a breeding recommendation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. He was bred with the zoo’s female Pallas’ cat, Hal (pronounced “ha-roo”). Together, they had two litters, of five kittens each, in 2017 and 2018. Hal died in November from an inoperable tumor.
Petenka is the third cat at Hogle Zoo to die this summer. Ryder, a male black-footed cat, was euthanized on July 22, at age 4, after being treated for an advanced kidney disease. And Chimeegui, a 12-year-old male snow leopard, was euthanized on Aug. 17, after an illness.
