Riverbanks Zoo announced that its female lion, Brynn, was euthanized Friday because of “her sudden decline in health.”
"Brynn was being treated for loss of appetite, but her condition severely worsened over the last few weeks," said John Davis, curator of mammals at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in a news release.
Results from a necropsy to determine what caused her quick decline won’t be known for several weeks, the zoo said.
The 16-year-old African lion had been at Riverbanks in Columbia since 2002. She gave birth to four cubs in June, 2008. The male, Chuma, lives at the Greenville Zoo. Three females, Jasiri-Congaree, Johari and Lina, were sent to the Dallas Zoo in 2010.
Brynn’s death leaves 12-year-old male Zuri the sole African lion at Riverbanks. Administrators are working with the African Lion Special Survival Plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, to obtain a “suitable companion,” the zoo said.
Brynn’s death is the second loss for the zoo in as many months. In December, 2016, 44-year-old Petunia, an African Elephant, was euthanized after a sudden illness.
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