Cookie, a 22-year-old African lion (Phoenix Zoo)
PHOENIX - The Phoenix Zoo is mourning the loss of one of its African lions.
The zoo said on March 10 Cookie, a 22-year-old female lion, was humanely euthanized due to "severe, chronic, progressive, irreversible, degenerative changes in her vertebrae and spinal cord" which resulted in hind limb muscle loss and weakness that affected her mobility and quality of life.
Cookie was born in September of 1998 and she and her brother, Sheik, began their lives in the hands of a private owner before finding a new home at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
"Unfortunately, the lion house became just too crowded after a while, and Cookie and Sheik were not adapting well," the zoo said in a Facebook post.
Cookie and Sheik arrived at the Phoenix Zoo in 2005 to provide companionship for the zoo's elderly resident lioness, Pima.
While at the Phoenix Zoo, Cookie "was a strong lioness who demanded respect."
"Very discerning when it came to the company she would keep, you could count on one paw the number of keepers she immediately took a shine to," the zoo said.
Among the things Cookie enjoyed most were fresh catnip and paper mache balls, but her favorite thing to do was lie out in the sun.
"Cookie enjoyed many things, but first and foremost, she was an avid sun worshipper," the zoo said. "She would lie on her back, shamelessly exposing her lily-white belly to the warm rays, with anywhere between one and four paws up and dangling lazily in the breeze."
One of Cookie's other passions? Duck hunting.
"In addition, she immensely enjoyed stalking the occasional duck that had the misfortune of landing in her pond, as well as stalking something much larger, namely her mate Kitambi," the zoo said.
According to the zoo, the average lifespan for an African lion is 15 years in the wild and up to 30 years in managed care.
"Cookie lived a long, full life of 22 years, an advanced age that many lions never attain," the zoo said.
Rest in peace, Cookie.
Phoenix Zoo's tribute to Cookie
https://www.phoenixzoo.org/blog/animal-updates/a-tribute-to-cookie/
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