26-YO lioness Supriya dies at Nandankanan Zoo

Bhubaneswar: A  26-year-old lioness at the Nandankanan Zoological Park on the city outskirts died this morning.

Sources said lioness ‘Supriya’ was suffering from old age-related ailments for the last couple of days. She died at around 9:30 AM today. She was born during 1994.

In January 2012, the lioness had slipped out of an enclosure in the zoo triggering panic among visitors.  However, she was later captured after 17 hours of rescue operation by the zoo authorities.

After Supriya’s death, the zoo now has two African lioness and eight Asiatic lions and four Asiatic lioness.

It is pertinent to mention here that the zoo that has remained closed for over six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic will reopen for visitors from October 4.