Pride of Lincoln Park Zoo, Adelor the lion euthanized
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE February 1, 2012 12:14PM
Adelor, an 18-year-old African lion, was euthanized Wednesday at Lincoln Park Zoo, where he had lived since 1995. / photo from Linocln Park Zoo
Updated: February 1, 2012 12:16PM
One of the most popular animals at Lincoln Park Zoo, an 18-year-old male African lion, was euthanized Wednesday because of deteriorating health.
Adelor had lived at the zoo since 1995, and his death leaves 15-year-old lioness Myra as the only remaining African lion at the Near North Side facility, the zoo said.
The zoo’s animal care staff euthanized the geriatric lion due to progressively deteriorating health and quality of life, the zoo said.
Zoological manager Mark Kamhout called Adelor one of the zoo’s most popular residents.
“Guests of all ages would flock to the lion exhibit when Adelor began roaring as he announced his territory several times a day,” he said in a news release. “He was a wonderful leader of the pride and was very protective and affectionate of the females under his care.”
Adelor was probably most commonly known for “lying on the top of the large boulders of the exhibit where he could survey his territory and monitor his pride,” Kamhout said.
Eighteen years is a long life for a lion. Median life expectancy for lions is about 14 years, and the longest known to have survived in captivity is 26 years, the zoo said.
Zoo officials are working with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ African Lion Species Survival Plan to try to find another lion or lions to accompany Myra, the zoo said, but nothing has as yet been determined.
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