Lansing's Potter Park Zoo Announces Death of Amur Tiger Vikentii

It is with a very heavy heart that Lansing's Potter Park Zoo has announced the death of one of its beloved animals.

Potter Park Zoo's Amur tiger, Vikentii, has passed away. The announcement was made on the zoo's Facebook page Monday morning (March 9, 2026).

Courtesy of Potter Park Zoo via Facebook

Who Was Vikentii the Amur Tiger?

While Vikentii only arrived at Potter Park Zoo three years ago in 2023, the tiger was 16 years old, which is older than the typical life expectancy for Amur tigers in human care. Here's what the zoo had to say about the nature of his passing:

At 16 years old, past the median life expectancy for Amur tigers in human care, Vikentii was being treated for age related arthritis. Last week, he experienced a sudden decline in mobility determined to be related to neurological factors. After further treatments were unsuccessful in improving his condition and with his quality of life as the top priority, our veterinary and animal care teams made the very difficult decision to humanely euthanize him.

Vikentii will be greatly missed by the team at Potter Park Zoo and its visitors. The moving Facebook post from the zoo has already received thousands of reactions and hundreds of comments and shares.

Amur tigers are adapted for cold climates, so Vikentii quickly took a liking to Michigan's winters and loved playing in the snow. You can see pictures of him lounging in the snow in Potter Park's dedication to him, below.

(Courtesy of Potter Park Zoo via Facebook)

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The Amur tiger is a critically endangered animal due to poaching and habitat destruction.

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