Rocky, the oldest lion at the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park, died on Sunday. Born at the Chhatbir lion safari, Rocky was said to be around 25 years. The normal lifespan of a lion in captivity is 18-20 years. He was born in the lion safari at a time when the zoo had more than 85 lions. Early in 2016, a plan to determine Rocky’s exact age by testing his blood or bone marrow samples was under consideration, but was never implemented. Watch what else is making news: According to the zoo authorities, he had developed cataract in both eyes. Because of his age, his teeth were completely worn out and his canines had flattened. Instead of the usual hard meat, he was given semi-boiled soft meat. He didn’t feed for the past three days and was on supportive treatment, which includes vitamins, minerals and tonics. Rocky, who was a cross breed of African and Asiatic lion species, was the last Asiatic-African hybrid lion of the zoo. Around 4-5 five years ago, he was removed from the safari and kept separately. At present, there are only four young lions – one male and three female at the Chhatbir zoo.

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