Lion heartache as Paignton matriarch dies

TB strikes at Paignton Zoo. Indu, 14, put to sleep to protect other lions

The matriarch of Paignton Zoo’s Asiatic lion pride has been put to sleep after contracting TB. 14-year-old Indu was born at Paignton Zoo and was mother to five-year-old Maliya.  A TB test aroused suspicion and a second confirmed the bad news. The zoo wanted to avoid the risk of her becoming contagious.

Paignton Zoo vet Christa van Wessem explains: “Indu’s first TB test was inconclusive. We were advised to retest her in six to eight weeks – this time we got a strong positive. Based on this, her age, the fact that she is a non-breeding animal and on long-term treatment for various conditions, we decided to euthanize her quickly to protect the other lions.”

Curator of mammals Nic Dunn says: “I’ve not been here long, and to have to announce this news to my team was very difficult. As it happens, she’s quite old for an Asiatic lion and has been on long-term medication for a while now. She has joint issues and kidney problems.”

Senior mammal keeper Helen Neighbour paid tribute to Indu: “I worked with Indu for nine years and watched her become a dedicated mother and then grandma. She has always looked after daughter Maliya and when Lucifer gets stroppy has always been a tough old bird. Myself and the rest of the cat team will miss her very much, but we are zoo keepers and, sadly, part of the job is to say goodbye.” 

Indu was born at Paignton Zoo in 2003; her name means moon. She had a litter of four cubs in 2012 with male Mwamba after several failed attempts and became a grandmother in 2016. Her mother died after developing kidney failure, which is common in older cats. Paignton Zoo’s pride of rare Asiatic lions now consists of two cubs, male Yali and his sister Arya, along with mother Maliya and father Lucifer, who is 15. 

Ms Wessem says: “What happens next depends on what is found in the post-mortem examination and in further tissue cultures, and also what the Animal & Plant Health Agency decides. I don’t know yet what the consequences might be. It’s even too early to say what sort of TB it is with any great degree of certainty and where it might have come from.”

TB, which has many forms, is hard to detect.