A rare white lion died at the Karachi Zoo on Wednesday allegedly after his lungs stopped functioning.
A spokesperson from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) confirmed the death saying that the lion had been suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis and was ill for the last 13 days.
He said, “He was being treated by veterinarians but could not recover and died due to his illness at 11 am on Wednesday”.
He further shared that the lion had been brought from Africa in 2012 and that it was around 14-15 years old.
He added that a team of veterinarians had performed an autopsy on the lion’s body and determined that the animal had also suffered from pneumonia and that his lungs had stopped working.
Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab has ordered a report on the lion’s death.
Expressing grief over the incident, Wahab said that white lions were a rare breed, and that “strict disciplinary action will be taken against the zoo management if any negligence is found after the cause of the lion’s death comes to light.”
The incident has occurred just a day after the video of a starving lion, reportedly located at the Karachi Zoo, did rounds on social media, instigating outrage.
However, as a response to the outcry on social media, the KMC insisted that all animals at Karachi Zoo were healthy and were being provided proper feed.
According to reports, KMC spokesperson Ali Hasan Sajid said that a special team had visited Karachi Zoo on Tuesday and collected information regarding the food provided to the animals.
Sajid said that the zoo had sufficient food for a week to fulfill the requirements of the animals and labeled the reports circulating on social media unfounded. The spokesperson further added that some miscreants were spreading propaganda about the Karachi Zoo.
