White Tiger Dies at Zoo Following Illness

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MILWAUKEE, WI – Ginger, the white tiger whose illness drew attention from over 500,000 Facebook followers, died June 27 at Shalom Wildlife Zoo in Washington County, the zoo said in a Facebook post.

Ginger had been sick for more than a week. The cause of her death has not yet been publicly disclosed. Ginger’s illness first surfaced in a Facebook post on June 18, when the zoo stated that she “[wasn’t] feeling well.” The next day, it was announced that she had a uterine infection and was being treated with medication.

On June 23, four days before she died, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked Shalom which veterinarians were treating Ginger and what diagnostic steps had been taken. Zoo co-owner David Fechter declined to answer, citing Wisconsin’s physician-patient privilege – a legal protection that applies to humans and does not extend to animals.

Two of Ginger’s cubs, Khan and Nina, drowned in a partially frozen pond at the zoo in November 2022. The USDA cited Shalom for failing to protect the animals during unsafe weather conditions and issued an official warning.

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