Good bye to lion Juma...

The mighty lion Juma from Pittsburgh Zoo having been put down because of declining health. After he stopped eating, vets and keepers made tough decision to put him down.

Juma, one of the five oldest male lions living in the United States, had been suffering from age-related ailments in the past year including feline dementia.”He would sometimes forget where he was and look around like he was lost,” Said Dr. Stephanie James, director of animal health. “As his senior moments increased, his appetite decreased.”

A week before he died, Juma stopped eating.

Juma came to the Pittsburgh zoo in 1990 when he was one-year-old.

He was confiscated from a private Zoo in rural central Ohio after police received complaints about a roaming lion killing and eating chickens.

When Juma arrived at Pittsburgh Zoo, Shiba had already been there a year. After initially being indifferent towards each other they soon became friends. They spent their whole lives together and their love was plain for all to see.

Kathy Suthard, the zoo’s lead carnivore keeper, said: ‘As you watched Juma and Shiba, they reminded you of an old married couple.

Days before he died, she spent hours grooming him and would stay very close.After he died,Shiba stayed inside for a couple of days but is now back to her routine.