Wellington Zoo's nine-year-old cheetah Delta has died after suffering kidney failure.



Life sciences manager Dave French said Delta, who arrived at Wellington Zoo with his brother Charlie in 2005, had suffered from kidney failure, which was not uncommon in big cats.



"He has been treated for kidney disease for some time but his condition has deteriorated and we made the decision to euthanise him this afternoon.



"This is a huge blow to us, following on from the loss of Cantik the sumatran tiger last week, but we understand that this is the nature of caring for animals."



Cantik, who was 21 years old, was put down last week after suffering from a malignant tumour.



Delta had been part of the zoo's Close Encounters programme, which allows members of the public to get up close with specific zoo animals and learn about caring for them.

Delta was born at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre, then was handreared at Cheetah Outreach in Capetown, South Africa.

Delta had been a great ambassador for the zoo, Mr French said."People who have met him up close, felt his tail and made him purr will never forget their time with this special cat."