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Ailing Tiger, 19, Euthanized At Lake Superior Zoo

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- An ailing tiger has been euthanized at Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth.

The zoo's veterinarian says the 19-year-old female tiger known as Natasha was suffering from multiple chronic problems and had taken a turn for the worse over the last 24 hours.

According to the vet, the tiger had become incontinent and had developed an infection that would have been difficult to treat because of the drug's severe side-effects.

A necropsy -- or animal autopsy -- will be performed at the University of Minnesota.

The Duluth News Tribune reports Natasha was born June 30, 1992, at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. She had been a resident of the Lake Superior Zoo for 18 years.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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