An 18-year-old lioness died of a heart attack due to old age at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam (Vizag Zoo), an official said on Sunday.

The lioness, Maheswari, died late Saturday night.

“The cause of death is severe myocardial infarction (heart attack) due to senility (old age) as per the post-mortem report submitted by the veterinary assistant surgeon,” Vizag Zoo curator Nandani Salaria said in a press release.

Born in 2006 and brought to the Vizag Zoo from Gujarat’s Sakkarbaug Zoo in 2019, Maheshwari has contributed to the cause of conservation and enabled education on Asiatic lions to millions of people, she said.

According to Salaria, lions survive for about 16 to 18 years in the wild while Maheswari managed to enter its 19th year of life.

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