National Zoo cheetah euthanized amid failing health

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Officials at the National Zoo have announced that Granger, a more than decade-old cheetah, has been euthanized due to worsening health.

The Washington Post reports that officials at the zoo said Thursday that the animal had renal and pancreatic disease.

Officials said that Granger’s caretakers had recently observed him not eating all of his food. A subsequent exam confirmed that he had increasingly serious symptoms of renal disease.

Granger and two of his brothers came to the National Zoo in April 2007 from a conservation center in Florida.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says the species is “vulnerable to extinction,” with there being an estimated 7,500 to 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild.

There are currently two other adult male cheetahs, Justin and Bakari, at the zoo.

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