National Zoo Lion Shera Euthanasia Planned in Early May
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is planning national zoo lion shera euthanasia in early May. Shera, a 21-year-old African lion, has become less sure-footed in recent weeks while moving through her enclosures.
She has lived at the zoo’s Washington, D.C., campus for 19 years, after arriving in October 2006 with her late sister Nababiep and a young male lion named Luke. The zoo said Shera has been closely monitored for years as keepers and veterinarians tracked her mobility, demeanor, liver issues, kidney issues and osteoarthritis.
Shera at the National Zoo
Shera was born at a private reserve in South Africa in November 2004. She and Nababiep arrived at the Great Cats exhibit as youngsters and have been part of the zoo’s lion group for nearly two decades.
The zoo describes her as one of the two oldest living lions in Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos. It also says she has been a mother to eight cubs and an aunt to five niblings.
Veterinary review in Washington
The zoo said the decision to euthanize an animal is never taken lightly and is never made independently. Multiple teams, including the animal husbandry team and veterinary team, assess an animal’s quality of life before that step is taken.
Shera also took part in husbandry and medical training for many years, including voluntary injections and blood draws. Keepers and veterinarians have managed medical conditions common in elderly lions, and her arthritis is described as pretty severe.
Early May at Great Cats
Charlie Shaw, a Great Cats keeper, said of Shera: “Now, we’re coming to the end of her beautiful journey.” With her pain levels being kept low, the zoo is now moving toward a planned goodbye in early May.
For readers who have followed Shera’s life at the National Zoo, the decision centers on a lion that spent 19 years in Washington, D.C., and reached an age few zoo lions do.
