Mikhail, the Oregon Zoo's aged Amur tiger has died, officials announced Tuesday.

Just one day shy of his 20th birthday, the big cat, who was known as "Mik," was the oldest of his species in any accredited zoo. Despite his age, Mik reamined sprightly, said Amy Cutting, who oversees the zoo's Amur cat area.

"Until recently, Mik was so playful and active you could easily think he was a much younger cat," she said in a statement. "That's a huge testament to the care he received here. I couldn't be prouder of our keeper staff for everything they did to ensure he had a good life right up to the end."

Mik was euthanized Tuesday after a decline in health due to old age, the zoo said.

Born in 1998 at John Ball Zoological Gardens in Michigan, Mik came to the Oregon Zoo in 2000. The Amur tiger is critically endangered due to threats from poaching and loss of habitat. It's thought that there are fewer than 500 wild Amur tigers in their native range in southeast Russia.

As he aged, Mik developed arthritis in some of his joints and keepers did their best to keep him limber, giving him toys including a large rubber ball he frequently batted around his enclosure.

His death comes close on the heels of the death of Borris, the zoo's Amur leopard, who was euthanized earlier this month, also after health complications from old age.

That they knew it was coming doesn't make it hurt any less, Cutting said.

"As old as he was, we knew, realistically, that this day would be coming," she said. "But even when you think you're prepared for it, you never really are."

-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048