Lioness critical,officials worried

Anita,the 22-year-old purebred Gir lioness at the Byculla Zoo,has been critically ill and under continuous medical surveillance for the past 10 days,zoo veterinarians said on Thursday.

Anita,the 22-year-old purebred Gir lioness at the Byculla Zoo,has been critically ill and under continuous medical surveillance for the past 10 days,zoo veterinarians said on Thursday. The lioness is very old and has lived her lifespan now. She has been suffering from fissures for the past few months,and we have been treating her. However,recently we became really concerned when her health deteriorated and she stopped eating or even drinking water for a few days, said Dr Sanjay Tripathi,wildlife wet at the zoo.

With Anita in the zoo hospital for the past 10-12 days,Tripathi and his team have been working round-the-clock to monitor her health. Last week,the zoo officials contacted Dr R G Jani,coordinator of wildlife health at the Anand Veterinary College,Gujarat,for advise on treating her ailment.

Dr A Anjankar,zoo director,said,As per the experts advise,we have been administering saline and dressing her fissure wound everyday. Her health has improved despite her age. In the last two days,she has begun drinking water.

An animal keeper who has been working closely with the doctors in the treatment said,Since she has been off feed,we are closely watching her eating pattern. We count small pieces of beef meat and keep them in her enclosure. That way we can monitor how much food shes been eating. Besides we feed her light soups and plenty of water.

Despite the care,Tripathi was guarded about the lionesss prognosis. Anita has passed her average life expectancy. Captive lions are expected to live 20 years while wild lions live only 15-16 years usually. Now because of her age,she is responding slowly to treatment and thats why we are concerned. The doctor said that Anitas immune system has been very strong and she has survived several major illnesses in the past.

Anita is the only pure breed Gir lion in the zoo. Jimmy,the other lioness in the zoo is a hybrid,zoo officials revealed.

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