Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
Newsflash/@DagmaOficial
Jupiter, the malnourished lion who made worldwide headlines after being rescued from a circus has lost his battle against liver cancer and sadly passed away.
Male lion Jupiter had been transferred from the city of Monteria in the northern Colombian province of Cordoba to Cali in the western department of Valle del Cauca by the Colombian Air Force to undergo specialist treatment.
According to the Department of Environmental Management (DAGMA), who assessed the lion’s condition in the Municipal Garden Centre of Cali, the animal’s malnourished condition despite his good treatment in his new home was due to the fact he was suffering from liver cancer and anaemia.
Carlos Eduardo Calderon, the Director of DAGMA, told local media at the time: “The vets’ committee confirmed that they found several cancerous lumps in his liver and he is suffering from anaemia as well as renal impairment. His medical condition is critical.”
Newsflash
The Cali city council has now confirmed that the lion passed away last night (Wednesday).
A spokesperson from the city council who has not been named told local media: “At the moment he is under our custody, tomorrow the autopsy will be done and the report will be handed into the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, to the wildlife protection department, and once this process is concluded we will announce what we will do with the animal.”
The city council is to hold a press conference today (Thursday) alongside a team of vets and the Director of DAGMA Carlos Eduardo Calderon to inform the media about the autopsy results.
Jupiter had previously been staying at the Villa Lorena animal shelter in the city of Cali after it was rescued from a circus where it was reportedly abused and had its claws cut off.
Newsflash/@ProteccionPonal
However, DAGMA announced in 2017 that the lion would have to leave the shelter as the facilities could not guarantee the animal’s welfare.
Newsflash/@AlcaldiaDeCali
The big cat was transferred to the Los Caimanes zoo in the city of Monteria in the province of Cordoba on 27th March 2019. But in the zoo, his condition deteriorated rapidly before it was flown back to Cali on 27th February.
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