Saying Goodbye to Matzi

The Petting Zoo said goodbye to an old friend this week. Matzi, aka Mufasa, was rushed to the vet, carried in the arms of the zookeeper Tuesday morning. He was found to be in the end stages of renal failure (what ends the lives of most elderly cats, both domestic and wild). Matzi passed away of natural causes within minutes of being examined. Bobcats usually live up to 6 or 8 years in the wild, and 11 or 12 in captivity. He was six weeks short of his thirteenth birthday (June 3rd, 1999), described by the vet as being the equivlent to a person in his nineties. He lived a long and good life, and we will miss him dearly.