Cancer takes matriarch of African lions at S.F. Zoo
Sukari, a 20-year-old African lioness, loved to eat horse shanks, pork loin and goat’s milk, play soccer and hang out in the moat of the lion habitat at the San Francisco Zoo.
The big cat, whose name means “sugar” in Swahili, has died, zoo officials announced Thursday. The lioness had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for splenic lymphoma since October, the zoo said in a release.
Sukari was the matriarch of the zoo’s African lion pride, and had lived at the San Francisco Zoo since 2009.
She “was stoic in nature, however, once you got to know her, she would melt your heart,” zoo officials said on Twitter.
The lioness could often be seen in the moat of the exhibit area, batting around an indestructible ball against the walls of the lion habitat’s moat.
Tanya Peterson, CEO and executive director of the San Francisco Zoological Society, said Sukari had been an excellent patient, tolerating chemotherapy with minimal side effects. As recently as December, she had no new masses, and her spleen had decreased in size.
“We are heartbroken for the loss of our beloved Sukari,” she said. “We are also encouraged that advanced treatment of her cancer gave her some comfort, as both her appetite and behavior improved significantly over time, in part due to our integrated wellness approach which gave Sukari the best care possible for an aged animal with cancer.”
Sukari was born at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2002 and was transferred to the San Francisco Zoo as part of a management program designed to sustain the populations of certain threatened and endangered species in zoos and aquariums. She was excited to meet the other lions, caretakers said, and eventually mated with Jahari, the male of the pride.
Sukari gave birth to Jasiri in August 2015.
“She was stoic and fierce, but trusting with her long-time caretakers, and guests could see her close relationship with the other lions as she was always close by them,” said Dominick Dorsa, the zoo’s vice president of animal care and wellness. “We learned a lot from her, and she will be missed.”