Topeka ? An endangered Sumatran tiger died after being attacked by her companion at the Topeka Zoo during the weekend.

Cantik, a 3-year-old female tiger, suffered injuries to her jugular vein Saturday when bitten by Raguno, a 6-year-old Sumatran. The two had been brought together to breed.

“It’s hard to predict what caused this,” said zoo director Mike Coker. “They’d been side by side since November – they were very familiar with each other.”

Coker said the attack happened sometime after 11 a.m. The dead tiger was discovered after a zoo visitor expressed concerns to a staff member.

“It’s just unfortunate,” Coker said. “They seemed to be getting along fairly well.”

He said the zoo plans to replace Cantik, but he doesn’t know if the next tiger will be a male or female.

Coker said Raguno will not be punished for killing Cantik.

“It’s a tiger being a tiger,” he said.