JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Bruno, the oldest male jaguar at Florida's Jacksonville Zoo, was euthanized at the age of 16 due to a central nervous system disease, a zoo official says.
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' senior veterinarian, Nick Kapustin, said Bruno's condition had deteriorated during the last two weeks to a point that the large cat was unable to feed itself, the (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported Thursday.
"When you have a continual trend downward with an animal like a jaguar that you can't really give a lot of nursing to," Kapustin said, "it becomes a quality of life issue."
Bruno, who was euthanized Monday night, arrived at the Jacksonville Zoo in 1998. The jaguar had been captured in Venezuela where it had been attacking cattle, the Times-Union reported.
The Times-Union said with the death of Bruno, the zoo's Range of the Jaguar exhibit now houses seven cats.
