Nandankanan’s African Lion Died Of Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis

Bhubaneswar: An eight-year-old male African lion was found dead in the safari of Nandankanan Zoological Park here on Wednesday morning.

According to the zoo authorities, the animal had fallen seriously ill on Tuesday and treatment was continuing. A team of experts was called from Centre for Wildlife Health, OUAT-Bhubaneswar, for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the postmortem report attributed the death to hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. The samples have been collected by Centre for Wildlife Health, College of Veterinary Science, for examination to find out the exact causative agents. As a precautionary measure, the authorities have strengthened regular disinfection in and around the lion enclosures and hourly observation of rest of the species.

The lion found dead this morning was brought from Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2015.

Following its death, the zoo is now left with five male and seven female lions.

Earlier this month, an African lion of the same age, had died. It was also procured from Israel. The animal had died while be administered saline at the zoo hospital, after it fell ill.