Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Zoo Heidelberg Euthanizes Germany’s Oldest Lion, Chalid, at 20

An anesthetized exam confirmed untreatable kidney failure, leading keepers to end the Berber lion’s suffering.

Overview

  • The zoo reported that Chalid had rapidly lost weight, withdrawn from activity, and stopped eating in recent weeks.
  • He was identified by Zoo Heidelberg as the oldest living lion in a German zoo at the time of his death.
  • Born in England in 2005, he moved to Hannover in 2010 and to Heidelberg in 2016, where he occupied a new lion enclosure from 2019.
  • With his 17-year-old partner Binta, he sired eight cubs and became a grand-, great‑grand- and great‑great‑grandfather.
  • Binta and their son Nouri will remain at Zoo Heidelberg for now, with a decision on Nouri’s potential breeding role to come later.