Japan’s Oldest Lion Dies, Equivalent to Over 100 Human Years, Visitors Pay Tribute
Recently, a memorial site was constructed outside the lion enclosure at Kyoto City Zoo. Every day, many visitors come to place flowers and handwritten messages, mourning the recently deceased lion.
This lion, named Neil, was a male lion born on March 9, 1994, at the Adventure World theme park in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It was relocated to Kyoto City Zoo in July 1997. After the death of a female lion named Crysta in January 2017, Neil became the only lion at the zoo. Neil the lion loved outdoor activities, whether it was raining or snowing, it liked to come out of its room in the morning to climb the wall and roar loudly, proclaiming its existence to the world.
Starting in 2017, Neil the lion's food intake decreased by about half, and it could only eat about 20 kilograms of meat per meal, and its weight gradually decreased. Despite this, it still woke up every morning and started a new day by roaring loudly. In early 2020, Neil the lion's food intake decreased again, and the zookeepers found that the food given to it was always left over. On January 27th, the situation worsened again, and Neil the lion began to not eat anything, becoming weaker. Neil the lion, whose lifespan was approaching 26 years, was about to end its life.
On January 29th morning, Neil the lion, which had been lying on the ground for a long time, suddenly struggled to stand up and walked a few steps, as if telling people it didn't want to give up on this world. By night, it couldn't stand up again. On January 31st, Neil the lion left this world due to old age.
In the wild, the average lifespan of lions is about 10 years, but under artificial rearing conditions, the average lifespan of lions can reach 18 years. Neil the lion's lifespan was 25 years and 10 months, which is equivalent to over 100 human years, and it became the longest-lived lion in Japan.
Zoo staff said that Neil the lion's life was at its peak in April 2012, at which time its weight reached 155 kilograms. But the light of life always fades away quickly, even the strongest lions cannot resist the invasion of time on the body. When Neil the lion died, its weight was only 96.5 kilograms.
During its lifetime, Neil the lion was always a lion with a love of life. It loved life, liked to take walks, and lived the life it liked, and maintained its dignity until the end of its life, which was also an important reason why the zoo administrators did not decide to euthanize it until the end.
Zoo staff said they would keep the memorial site set up for Neil the lion until the end of February. Now, every day there are visitors to mourn Neil, and some children even put their favorite toys in front of Neil's photo, hoping that Neil can live happily in another world. Although Neil has left this world, its roar still echoes in this world……
