New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) A seven-year-old lion died at the zoo in Delhi on Sunday after a prolonged illness, an official said.

Aman apparently died due to cardiac arrest. Post-mortem and visceral examination will ascertain the specific cause of death, Director Ramesh Pandey said.

The feline was born at Chhatbir Zoo, Chandigarh, in June 2014 and brought to the National Zoological Park in Delhi in June 2015.

"He had not been keeping well since early March and was admitted to the Veterinary Hospital of the zoo on April 13," Pandey said in a statement.

The animal showed signs of infections, chronic bronchitis, physiological abnormalities and complexities in multiple organs, he said.

Samples of the animal sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for COVID testing on May 5 were found negative.

He was under intensive medication and care for almost a month in the veterinary hospital. Views of experts from the IVRI and other veterinarians were also taken, Pandey said.

The Delhi zoo now has a pair of lions left. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)