A 25-year-old lioness, which had been housed in the rescue centre of Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) for nearly 17 years, died on Sunday.
According to officials in the BBP, the lioness, named Usha, died due to multi-organ failure and senility.
She had been rescued from a circus when she was around 8 years old and was brought to BBP from Sangli zoo in Maharastra in August 2001.
Earlier this year, the lioness had a rectal prolapse, where the rectum protrudes out of the body, and underwent surgery for the same. On Saturday morning, she had a rectal prolapse and died during treatment.
Post-mortem revealed that death was due to multiple growth in the lungs and multi-organ failure, said R. Gokul, Executive Director, BBP.
“Usha was among the oldest lions in the rescue centre, and could live up to the age of 25 owing to treatment within the centre,” he said.
On average, wild lions live up to 15 years.
There are 12 lions in the rescue centre. Most are above the age of 20. All had been rescued from circuses. Since they were tame and accustomed to human presence, they were not displayed in the zoo.
