Juma & Shiba were such a blessed couple at Pittsburgh Zoo. They were together for the past 21 years. But recently Juma passed away. He was fighting feline dementia.
Shiba has of course taken it badly. It’s always tough on an animal when his/her mate dies. But Shiba was a very loyal mate. Juma was not eating anything for days but she never left his side. She was constantly grooming him while he was becoming weaker & weaker.
Kathy Suthard, the zoo's lead carnivore keeper, said: 'As you watched Juma and Shiba, they reminded you of an old married couple. They were always together. They would curl up together at night on one of the sleeping platforms. When Juma’s arthritis prevented him from jumping up to the platform, Shiba would join him on the straw bed we made for him.'
Fortunately Shiba, who at 22 was a year older than Juma, seems to be coping with life alone.
Miss Suthard said: 'I think that she sensed that Juma wasn’t feeling well.
'Days before he died, she spent hours grooming him and would stay very close. A couple days after his passing, she seemed distracted. Shiba stayed inside for a couple of days but is now back to her routine.'
In its blog, Pittsburgh Zoo wrote: 'It is with great sadness that the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium announces that Juma has passed away. He 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," says Dr. Stephanie James, Director of Animal Health.
'"As his senior moments increased, his appetite decreased. His keepers tried to encourage him to eat by giving him his favourite food, ground turkey. We knew that despite everything we were doing, his quality of life continued to deteriorate."'
After careful thought, veterinary staff and lion keepers made the difficult decision to euthanize Juma, the blog added.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369265/Pittsburgh-Zoos-favourite-lion-Juma-dies-21-leaving-lioness-Shiba.html#ixzz1HhVGcBVq
