Tasmanian devil 'Mustard' dies at the Columbus Zoo
POWELL, Ohio (WCMH)-- The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium announced the death of one of their Tasmanian devils Tuesday.
The zoo said in a social media post they made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize 4-year-old Mustard last month after he was found to be severely anemic. Tests run by their animal health team were ordered when the Australian keepers noticed he was "quieter than usual and unsteady on his feet."
"In a cat or dog, the treatment would involve a blood transfusion and care in an ICU, which, unfortunately, was not a safe option for Mustard. Sadly, the team made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Mustard on September 4, 2022," the zoo said.
Mustard was one of three Tasmanian devils that were brought to the zoo in May 2019 from Hobart, Tasmania, through the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. The Tasmanian government created STDP to fight the threat of extinction of the Tasmanian devil due to the Devil Facial Tumour Disease, the zoo explained.