Asian Lioness, Akela has been PTS this week at the grand old age of 19: Statement from the parks Facebook
Sadly, due to age related problems, we made the difficult decision to put our Asiatic lioness “Akela” to sleep. She was 20 years old which is an extremely good age for a lion and she was one of the oldest of her species in captivity. She had been carefully monitored by our keepers and veterinary team over the past few months and we felt the time was right to prevent any suffering as her condition deteriorated. Akela was born at Helsinki Zoo in 1994 and came to us in August 1996, over the years she proved an excellent mother to 4 cubs, and many of her descendants can be found in zoos around Europe. After the death of her mate, she was joined last year by a young male “Rana” who gave her a new lease of life over the summer. He will now be joined by a young female to form a new pair at the Park and hopefully, these will prove as popular as Akela. She will be sadly missed by staff and visitors alike