Tokyo: Three female lions have died at Tama Zoological Park in western Tokyo within a week, with zoo officials suspecting heat-related illness as Japan struggles with dangerously high summer temperatures.
Autopsies found that all three lions suffered from systemic dehydration and multiple organ failure, suggesting heat stress may have contributed to their deaths. However, the zoo said the precise causes will only be confirmed after further test results are available.
The youngest lion, three-year-old Mugi, began showing a loss of appetite on July 19 and was unable to stand the following day. Zoo staff attempted to cool the animal using ventilation and water and administered fluids, vitamins and other treatments. Mugi died on July 28.
An 11-year-old lion named Ichigo died on July 31, while 15-year-old Luena died several days later. Other lions at the zoo have also become unwell. Three, two males and one female, were unable to stand and were receiving fluids, medication and vitamins, according to the zoo. Four other lions had shown signs of recovery, while six remained healthy.
The animals are being moved to private enclosures equipped with portable air conditioners and industrial fans as staff attempt to protect them from the intense temperatures.
Experts said Japan’s combination of extreme temperatures and high humidity can make it particularly difficult for lions to regulate their body temperature. Unlike humans, lions do not rely primarily on sweating to cool themselves and instead use breathing and evaporation from their airways.
A sudden rise in temperatures during mid-July may also have left the animals with insufficient time to acclimatise to the conditions. Tama Zoological Park, which houses around 260 animal species, has bred and exhibited lions since 1964. The zoo previously suspended its lion exhibit and safari-style lion bus service because animals had become unwell during the sudden heatwave.
The deaths come as Japan faces an increasingly severe summer. More than 43,000 people have been taken to hospitals with heatstroke across the country this summer, while authorities have issued heat warnings and urged residents to take precautions against dangerously high temperatures.
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