A 19-year-old captive lioness died at the lion safari park in the Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary late Friday owing to age-related ailments.
Sindhu, the deceased animal, appeared to be lacking in appetite for some days. The post-mortem examination indicated respiratory dysfunction to be the cause of death. Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer Dayamon D. Mathew said the hybrid lion had been refusing its feed, which included a diet of 3.5 kg of beef, for three days.
He said lions in captivity usually survived for around 20 years, while those in the wild live for close to 15 years. According to Y.M. Shajikumar, Wildlife Warden, Thiruvananthapuram, the lion safari park has another lioness of similar age. The park had as many as around 15 lions roughly 10 years ago. A male lion had died in 2016, the last death among lions in the park. With the lion population at the park having fallen to one, forest officials lamented that this could have an impact on the visitor inflow. While efforts were on to obtain two lions from Gujarat, they were yet to be realised.
The mortal remains were later cremated on the premises of the sanctuary.
