{"id":518011,"date":"2026-04-07T17:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/518011\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:42:14","slug":"beloved-tiger-dies-at-scottish-wildlife-park-as-tributes-pour-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/518011\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Beloved&#8217; tiger dies at Scottish wildlife park as tributes pour in"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n  On Monday, the Highland <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/topics\/wildlife\/?ref=au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wildlife<\/a> Park shared that male Amur tiger Botzman has passed away at the age of 14.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The park, based in Kingussie in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/topics\/cairngorms\/?ref=au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cairngorms<\/a> National Park, said the tiger was put to sleep following an age-related illness.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>Botzman was 14 years old (Image: Highland Wildlife Park)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  While vets at the park had been providing him with specialist geriatric care, Botzman&#8217;s health deteriorated further and the team made the &#8220;difficult decision&#8221; to put him down.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Botzman first arrived at the Highland Wildlife Park in October 2020.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/news\/25997905.lochside-highlands-water-park-loved-outdoor-enthusiasts-hits-market\/?ref=ed_latest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Lochside Highlands water park loved by outdoor enthusiasts hits the market<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He was a father to seven cubs, including Nishka, who still lives at the park with her mother Dominika.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Amur tigers are classed as endangered and live in the wild in isolated pockets of Russia&#8217;s Amur River valley and China&#8217;s north-eastern border.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  With an estimated wild population of just 450, more Amur tigers now live in zoos than in their natural habitat.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>Botzman pictured at the Highland Wildlife Park (Image: Highland Wildlife Park)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  A spokesperson for the Highland Wildlife Park said: &#8220;We are sad to share the news that Botzman, our beloved male Amur tiger, has been put to sleep at the age of 14 following an age-related illness.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;Our veterinary team and animal keepers had been providing him with specialist geriatric care for more than a year, ensuring he had the best quality of life possible. With his health deteriorating in recent days our vet team made the difficult decision to put Botzman to sleep.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/news\/25997779.outlander-star-sam-heughan-lead-annual-new-york-tartan-day-parade\/?ref=ed_latest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Outlander star Sam Heughan to lead annual New York Tartan Day Parade<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The spokesperson added: &#8220;This gentle boy was a father to seven cubs including Nishka, who still lives here at the park with her mother Dominika.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;We know he will be hugely missed by everyone.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Tributes have poured in following the death of Botzman, with one person writing on social media: &#8220;Had the oy of meeting him at the tiger experience a few years ago, he was a delightful creature.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry for the loss the keepers will be feeling.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Another said: &#8220;RIP you beautiful boy you left behind an incredible legacy.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  A third added: &#8220;Rest easy, Botzman! [heart emoji]&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The Highland Wildlife Park, run by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) is home to around 30 different species, including polar bears, wildcats, artic foxes and snow leopards.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.highlandwildlifepark.org.uk\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a> to find out more about the park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Monday, the Highland Wildlife Park shared that male Amur tiger Botzman has passed away at the age&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-518011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom","11":"tag-unitedkingdom","12":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}