Woodland Park Zoo lioness dies after surgery complication

SEATTLE -- A lion at Woodland Park Zoo died Tuesday from complications during undergoing surgery, the zoo said.

Adia, 9, was the zoo’s sole South African lioness and recently underwent abdominal surgery but was slow to heal from the procedure.

The zoo’s veterinary team performed emergency surgery on Adia after follow-up tests revealed more complications.

The lioness went into cardiac arrest during the procedure and died.

(Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo)

“This is a very sad time for our zoo family,” the zoo’s mammal curator Martin Ramirez said. “Adia had given birth to two litters of seven amazing cubs with two different companions.”

Adia arrived at the zoo in 2010 as part of a breeding program to sustain the lion population.

The average life expectancy for a lion in captivity is almost 17 years.