Odin, the beloved and popular 17-year-old white Bengal tiger at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, has died, park officials confirmed.
Suffering from chronic arthritis and pain, Odin was humanely euthanized on Monday about a week shy of his 18th birthday, said Lee Munro, an animal ambassador at the park.
“It’s very hard for me and very hard for the entire park,” Munro said by phone Tuesday about Odin’s death. “I was Odin’s sidekick and helped raise him from when he was two weeks old.”
Born at Discovery Kingdom when it was then known as Marine World Africa USA in 2001, Odin became internationally known after a British photographer came took photos of Odin at the park. The photos were eventually published in The Daily Mail, a British tabloid.
Before the term “viral” became popular, those photos of Odin went viral as the 440-pound-plus cat garnered attention from all over the globe.
The Associated Press, New York Times, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and In Touch all came to the park to cover Odin, while TV shows like “Telemundo” and “Good Morning America” ran segments on the big cat.
“He was an icon for the park,” Munro added.
News of Odin’s death was first shared on the park’s official Facebook page, which generated over 200 hundred comments and 300 plus shares of the post. The post included several photos of Odin over the years.
“My favorite boy. Rest In Peace sweet Odin,” wrote former park spokeswoman Nancy Chan under the post. “You will always be a superstar.”
“Rest easy big guy thanx for the memories glad my daughter got to meet u,” wrote Edgar Quezada Gonzalez. “Odin was world famous for diving in the water and traveled to teach other tigers how to do it..Odin you’ll be missed dearly.”
Two years after Odin became an internet star, Discovery Kingdom opened Odin’s Temple of the Tiger exhibit for all of the park’s tigers.
Odin’s final years were ones of peace and relaxation, park officials said.
“He spent his final years laying in the sun, taking cat naps and of course, enjoying his favorite activity of cooling off in the pool,” according to the park’s Facebook post.
Munro said Odin was the last of white tigers at the park. Discovery Kingdom still has eight tigers.
At the end of its post, the park provided a link to The Fund For The Tiger for those wishing to honor Odin, www.thefundforthetiger.org.
