Outrage as zoo kills healthy lioness after male mate dies

A zoo in Australia has euthanised a pair of African lions after one of them suffered a medical episode, sparking a backlash on social media. The Adelaide Zoo said Amani and her male partner Mujambi were euthanised yesterday. "Both big cats are now at rest," the zoo said.

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

Mujambi, 19, suffered a medical episode over the weekend and, after the veterinary team failed to improve his condition, the zoo management decided to euthanise the animal to spare it further suffering.

Amani, 23, the oldest lioness in the country, was put to sleep shortly after. The zoo said the decision was made as “negative impacts” on Amani without her partner “outweighed any benefits of keeping the lioness alive”.

Amani and Mujambi had been together for 16 years and were “very closely bonded”. The zoo described Mujambi as a handsome lion with a beautiful mane despite his old age. “She swiped at him, growled and bossed him around, but she also wanted to be no further away from him than his shadow,” said zoo curator Deb Barry.

The African lions had lived beyond their average life expectancy in the wild of around 15 years, the zoo said. “Under human care in a zoo or safari park setting, lions can live into their 20s. At 23 and 19 both lions were in the latter stages of their lives,” it said.