KARACHI: An old lion died at the zoo on Friday morning, zoo staff told Dawn.

The animal had been inactive for the past one week.

“We found him dead in its enclosure today. It had no illness, though he had not been eating properly for some days. We believe that it was just because of old age that he passed away,” said additional director of the zoo Syed Aqeel Tazeem Naqvi.

According to him, the animal — about 23 years old — was the oldest big cat in the zoo that is currently home to white lions, Bengal tigers and lions, three pairs each.

The animal was donated by a private oil company in 2005 and had been living in isolation for a long time.

Meanwhile Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator Saqib Ahmed Soomro called for a report on the treatment being provided to the ailing big cat.

Last December, two puma cubs also died at the zoo.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2015

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