- Tiger cub at AZA Indianapolis Zoo dies

According to a Facebook post from the Indianapolis Zoo, Roman, one of the triplet Amur tiger cubs born at the zoo in May, passed away on Wednesday.

Roman had various health issues throughout his brief life due to a congenital abnormality that was present at birth. Roman underwent surgery to fix the problem, but his health worsened.

It said, "We are heartbroken." He faced too many medical obstacles despite our veterinary team's best efforts to save him.

According to the post, Roman "had a fantastic personality" and liked to wrestle with his siblings, Nicolas and Helina. According to a statement from the Zoo, Nicolas and Helina are both healthy and doing well.

The triplet tiger cubs were born in May at the Indianapolis Zoo to Zoya, an Amur tiger. According to a recent news release from the zoo, their birth was noteworthy since there are only about 100 Amur tigers in zoos that are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

The AZA’s Species Survival Program in part is allegedly in place to approve such breedings for the best possible outcomes. However, this was not the case in this outcome.

The AZA has not been very successful with big cat in the last 18 months. Now with six  endangered tiger deaths in 18 months and a "Species Survival Program" down 36% from when it was first started 40 years ago, it has many wondering.