Subali, the Asiatic lion of the Nuremberg zoo, was put to sleep.
In the end he could no longer walk and had to take medication.
Nuremberg - On Sunday (August 15), the Asiatic lion Subali had to be euthanized in the Nuremberg zoo * for medical reasons.
He was 15 years old, as the city writes in a message.
Subali caused quite a stir last year.
In a podcast it was discussed that the animal would have to be killed if the preservation of a healthy, self-sustaining subpopulation of the Asiatic lion was at stake due to its apparent inability to reproduce.
Subali was born in Edinburgh in 2006, then lived in Lodz, Poland, and Jerez, Spain, and was assigned to the Nuremberg Zoo in 2018 because he had never had offspring in any constellation.
Nuremberg: Breeding program hoped for offspring from Subali
The breeding program for Asiatic Lions had hoped for offspring between Subali and Aarany, who is now five years old.
Now the lion has died without conceiving offspring of his own.
In the last few weeks he has already shown clear signs of age-related complaints.
Among other things, he had pain when walking and did not eat much anymore, which had already resulted in significant weight loss.
Despite the veterinary treatment, he could hardly walk on Sunday lunchtime and became weaker and weaker within a few hours.
So it was decided to put him to sleep.
Nuremberg: Tiergarten is looking for nine Asiatic breeding lions
The studbook coordinator in Aalborg has already been informed and asked to assign the zoo a new partner for Aarany.
Lions are very social animals and shouldn't live long alone.
They need a pack structure or at least the paired life form.
The subspecies of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is considered endangered.
According to estimates from 2017, only 630 animals are believed to be alive.
Due to the geographically very limited distribution of the Asiatic lion, the zoo populations in Asia, Europe and the USA are essential as subpopulations for the survival probability of this subspecies of the lion.
Nuremberg: Subali got his food from the hand
Subali had a close relationship with his carers.
In his last days they hand-fed him through the bars and provided him with medicine.
The State Office for Health and Food Safety in Erlangen * is now carrying out the pathological examinations.
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