ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Last two African lions euthanised
- Thread starter rjh
- Start date
Very sad, but there was a sense of inevitability to this I suppose. The zoo seems to have form when it comes to euthanasing their older stock in winter-the same happened with the wolves a few years ago. Fewer visitors and questions to answer I imagine.
Interesting that there’s a view to breeding rather than rescues, and how they’ll manage the stud book. Also, how quickly will the turnaround be? New lions for Easter or the summer season?
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Also very possibly the age-related conditions are ones that are more apparent in cold weather (arthritis etc).
If you’re referring to Spike and Dotty, the last Escarpment lions, there was a brief period in the late 1990s/early 2000’s, when the zoo was fundraising for “Lions of the Serengeti,” that Whipsnade was without African lion. Dotty certainly outlived Spike, though I don’t know when she died. Did they ever produce cubs?There was even speculation at the time as to whether lions should return at all!
“Lions of the Serengeti” is situated upon an old hoofstock paddock. It’s lion house is an old stable. I don’t know what was housed there prior to the lions.
Incidently, returning to the old Escarpment Dells, I would love to know how on Earth keepers managed to clean these out! From memory, the lions had a stone cave situated in the bottom of the pit. Visitor safety was of low priority as the cages were separated by a low partition chain fence-you could easily put your hand through the bars if you were stupid enough! I also remember once being stalked by Spike when I was a child.
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Read above post.. in the last few months sadly all four lions heave had health issues and finally the last two in the Last week have been pts, all where elderly lions
I remember the Lion and Tiger Dells quite well. From memory there were primitive holding dens along one section of the perimeter fence. The Lions would be fed/lured in and shut in there while keepers cleaned out the enclosure, maybe sometimes renewing the straw in the stone cave in the hollow too. Probably didn't happen every day though...
The public access was dangerously close indeed. I remember there was at least one incident circa 1950's when somebody- was it a boy scout?- climbed over the barrier and sustained a major injury through the bars.
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Indeed there was a tragic incident involving a boy scout in the 1950s.
On 31st May 1956, a group of boy scouts visited Whipsnade where one of the boys dropped his cap into the lion enclosure. In an attempt to retrieve the cap, a boy climbed over the safety barrier and pushed his arm between the bars of the cage to reach the cap. Tragically a lion grabbed his arm and fatally mauled him.
Looking a bit further into this story, I discovered that the Pope at the time also became involved! Upon hearing of the incident, he sent his prayers to the boy and his family.
Considering older animals are just that...older, of course they will have more health issues especially at this time of year.
No need to speak ill of the situation, i dont think that was really appropriate.
Anyway, lets move on
It would be nice to know of Whipsnade’s history with keeping lions but I’m assuming it would be difficult given that most zoos of the time would have just kept generic “zoo lions.”
My first visit to Whipsnade was in the early 1990s, so Dotty and Spike were already well established in the Dell. I’m assuming they must have arrived in the mid-late 1980s? My knowledge doesn’t go any further back, nor do I know if they ever bred, so any further information would be greatly appreciated!
My first visit to Whipsnade was in the early 1990s, so Dotty and Spike were already well established in the Dell. I’m assuming they must have arrived in the mid-late 1980s? My knowledge doesn’t go any further back, nor do I know if they ever bred, so any further information would be greatly appreciated!
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Not sure it’s about ‘let’s move on’ tbh. It’s inappropriate to not be bothered about animal welfare.
Saw both lions just before this euthanasia event and both were reported to be fit and well by the keeper who was there at the time. So that was a straight out lie, or the keeper was unaware of the state of their charges. Neither are ideal.
They were both active and moving well around the enclosure.
It appears to be Whipsnade putting the problem of two elderly lions the public (and some people here it appears) are a bit bored of out of the way. The zoo is short of money and lions cost a lot to feed and treat.
That’s a pity.
When Neo was put down recently it was after a pretty marked deterioration (I visit a good amount and regularly photograph the lions and Neo’s visible weight loss / drooling was quite marked in the couple of weeks leading up to his destruction.
But Max and Kia were far less obvious and it’s sad to see them both destroyed in this way.
Destroying both as one would be lonely if the other was sick is also a rather sad end to a very happy pride who gave a lot of pleasure. And you might class it as kind however I won’t apologise for not finding it so.
Lions are social creatures, and wild animals in captivity who have a commercial purpose - they are not pets but solo elderly lions at the end of a pride have lived well in captivity elsewhere - they don’t draw much of a paying crowd of course.
It’s hard to believe both were too sick to go on at the same time.
Whipsnade also does destroy and move animals without replacing them more in the winter - I agree with the other poster that it’s to avoid too much discussion. Older animals are indeed older, but there’s a clear difference between old and dead. It’s indeed rather inappropriate to confuse the two.
I really like whipsnade, and I visit a lot but I’m also very sad to see the lion pride and it’s individuals end in this way.
Although I've visited Whipsnade since the 1950's, I can't help much on the actual history of their Lions. But there are many early b/w postcards of Lions in the 'dell' from circa the 1930's/40's era. Frequently these feature two or three adult males together. I don't remember any featuring cubs, or ever seeing any on my many visits, though I'm sure they must have bred them occassionally. On the other hand Tiger cubs feature several times in early postcards.
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Never underestimate the negative welfare impacts of keeping a social animal on their own. Yes aged lions have been kept on their own successfully but it depends greatly on the individual. These lions had always lived and grown up in a fairly large group of lions so likely that life on their own would not have been appropriate, so in a situation where you had two left and one had deteriorated the decision to euthanize the other I think is more than justifiable. This has happened recently a couple of times in NZ with a lot of transparent publicity. With the right reasons in mind I do not see this as a welfare issue at all, much more of a welfare issue to leave the lion on their own IMO.
Never ever underestimate the amount of thought and planning that goes into these decisions, ethics meetings etc. I feel for the keeping team.
Never ever underestimate the amount of thought and planning that goes into these decisions, ethics meetings etc. I feel for the keeping team.
I agree with "Pertinax" about postcards of Whipsnade's lions. I have several early Whipsnade black & white postcards, from the 1930s, that depict male lions but none featuring lion cubs (although I have several Whipsnade postcards from the same era depicting tiger cubs).
However perusing the ZSL Annual Reports shows that Whipsnade's lions bred quite frequently during the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s (and were especially prolific during the 1970s).
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I never was inappropirate and also when i said lets move on, i just wanted to avoid the backlash i normally get for supporting ZSL.
Ultimatley the keepers make the right choices so i think we have to trust them.
So please can we just do that.