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Rare Snow Leopard, 13, With Cancer Euthanized

Posted on: Saturday, 14 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Jenni Laidman, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Jan. 14--The Toledo Zoo euthanized its 13-year-old snow leopard Tuesday when it became clear that the orange-size tumor on the side of her face was spreading out of control.

The animal, named Usa, was diagnosed in April with spindle-cell sarcoma -- a cancer of connective tissue unresponsive to chemotherapy. Dr. Wynona Shellabarger, the chief zoo veterinarian, diagnosed the cancer after keepers noticed a quarter-sized lump under the animal's eye. Within a month of that initial examination, surgery was performed to remove the mass.

The hard, fibrous tumor with tentaclelike projections grew over and around the cheekbone, extending to the bone beneath the eye, Dr. Shellabarger said. Although the surgeon removed all visible signs of the tumor, a laboratory examination of the tissue at the very edge of the tumor revealed active cancer cells, which suggested that cancer remained behind. The cancer was almost guaranteed to return, but a search for further treatment was far from rewarding.

Usa was like other snow leopards when it came to change. She didn't like it.

When she arrived at the Toledo Zoo eight years ago on loan from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, it took months for her to feel comfortable enough to walk out onto exhibit in her new home.

"They're very private animals,'' Dr. Shellabarger said.

So when zoo staffers realized the leopard could be helped only by drastic intervention, they faced a difficult decision.

They could put the geriatric animal through surgery that would entail the removal of the bone underlying half of her face, and then follow it up by weeks of what could be daily radiation treatments. Or they could simply try to keep Usa comfortable and avoid the stress, trauma, and risk of a treatment that, at best, might buy her an additional 18 months.

The normal lifespan for captive snow leopards is 13 to 18 years, Dr. Shellabarger said.

Cats and dogs do learn to eat with the other half of their face after recovery from this type of surgery, but the radiation therapy would be almost more grueling for the animal. It would require her to be knocked out every time she was treated -- a physical strain on an older animal -- and to be taken off zoo grounds.

"This would require a lot of hands-on'' treatment, Dr. Shellabarger said.

"I think her life would have been pretty miserable,'' said Daron Graves, the zoo's associate curator of large mammals.

In light of those stressors, the zoo staff decided on a conservative treatment strategy, giving the snow leopard drugs they hoped might limit the tumor's blood supply, and watching her for signs of pain and discomfort.

But the tumor returned with a vengeance after the initial surgery and, by this week, the growth extended to her eye socket from just above her mouth, Mr. Graves said.

Still, the leopard showed no sign of discomfort, and continued to eat normally, only losing weight in the last week or two. She remained the tractable, almost affectionate, animal she became after adjusting to her Toledo home.

Mr. Graves said he understood "she was a pretty ill-tempered animal" when she first arrived in Toledo, but "within six to eight months, she really became a sweetheart.''

A week or two ago, Usa's first keeper, Tom Benner, was caring for her - he normally works in The Arctic exhibit now. Mr. Graves wanted to get a better look at the leopard's face, and Mr. Benner called the animal over with the noisy exhaling sound known as a chuff.

"She chuffed back at him, and came over and began rubbing herself against the fence, like a regular house cat. You can't really pet them, but it was like she remembered her old buddy,'' Mr. Graves said.

During the last month and a half, the pace of the tumor's growth increased. Occasionally, keepers would see a blood-tinged discharge from the animal's mouth. A visual examination revealed the tumor had expanded into the cat's mouth, and interfered with her chewing.

When Dr. Shellabarger put the cat under anesthesia for a fuller examination on Tuesday, it became rapidly clear Usa was failing.

There were signs that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. After the exam was complete, the animal was not given drugs to wake up.

The zoo has another snow leopard, 4-year-old Nikko. Zoo staff intends to seek a female for breeding. Snow leopards are endangered in their Central Asian mountain home.

Contact Jenni Laidman at: jenni@theblade.com (419) 724-6507

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

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Source: The Blade

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