Leopard 'fought like a trooper' before death at Chelyabinsk Zoo

In Chelyabinsk, leopard Amir has died due to health conditions that recently raised alarm at the zoo. The animal was almost 16 years old and had lost weight too sharply.

«He fought like a trooper, but the treatment didn»t work – his gallbladder just gave out,« the zoo explained. »Looking at some animals, it seems they were always here and always will be. They are such pillars of the zoo, without which it«s as if it»s not itself at all. Amir was one of those. Or rather, he was.«

The leopard lived in Chelyabinsk all his life and was born there. He was hand-reared by staff because his mother Idritsa rejected the cub immediately.

«Amir grew up as a magical, pot-bellied baby. Playful, beautiful, gray-eyed. It felt like he was made entirely of fluff, whiskers, and translucent claws. He was so touching and charming that almost everyone took a turn caring for him,» the zoo shared in memories. «This charm Amir carried through his whole life. He turned into a big, stately cat. Beautiful, like from the cover of a wildlife magazine. But at the same time, the kindest and very oriented towards humans.»

Amir even had a chance for a career in the Filatov Circus, but the leopard staged a rebellion there and was sent back.

«This year on February 4, Amir should have turned 16. So much, and yet so little at the same time. And it»s as if there«s nothing more to say, because words can»t capture it,« the zoo admitted.

Recall that last week, Chelyabinsk Zoo raised the alarm about the condition of the leopard and a tiger. Both predators began to lose weight rapidly and are already at a venerable age, 16 and 17 years old.

Amir is not the only elderly pet at the zoo.