Sudanese vets scrambled today to save four surviving captive lions of five that were left sick and malnourished in a Khartoum park during months of political and economic turmoil.
A malnourished lion walking inside its cage at the Al-Qureshi Park in Khartoum, Sudan. A video taken at the Al-Qureshi Park in Khartoum showed emaciated lions living in horrific conditions
Staff at the destitute Al-Qurashi Park were unable to feed and look after the animals, so many have died off or were evacuated form from the zoo, leaving only skeletal lions, including a lioness
Locals concerned about the fate of the lions flocked to help recently, bringing food and medical items, despite the economic crisis gripping the country
According to local media reports, a group of malnourished and sick African lions are being held at a zoo in Khartoum, with the zoo’s owners struggling to feed them
The lioness received intravenous fluids for several days at Al-Qureshi Park in an upstate part of the country’s capital, Khartoum, before she died on Monday. Four other lions remain in a desperate condition. (Pictured is one of the lions)
Price hikes and economic hardship have caused animals to suffer as well as the local population. The overall condition of the park itself was also affecting the animals’ health
The unsettling images drew impassioned responses from thousands around the world. But it wasn’t enough to save one lioness at the Khartoum zoo
African lions are classified as a ‘vulnerable’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The four lions have been held in filthy cages at the park and gone without food or medicines for weeks. (Pictured is one of the malnourished lions sleeping as flies swarm over it)
At the impoverished, forlorn zoo in Sudan’s capital, several lions were seen starving in rusted cages – their ribs protruding, eyes glassy and skin flaccid, as they were desperate for food and water
The park is managed by the Khartoum municipality and part funded by private donations. Officials said they spent their own money to get food for the animals on Sunday. Pictured is an emaciated lioness in a cage
The lions have lost as much as two-thirds of their bodyweight after being left at the park. Sudan is currently in the grip of an economic crisis due to a lack of foreign currency which has sparked a hike in the price of food
The big cats received food on Sunday after park officials bought it with their own money, he said, although they are in a dreadful condition.
Flies gather on the face of the sick lioness as she sleeps in her cage at the Al-Qureshi Park in the Sudanese capital Khartoum
The lioness rests her head on the concrete slabs. For weeks , the four lions have been suffering from shortages of food and medicine
The park where the lions are being kept is managed by Khartoum municipality but also funded in part by private donors
‘Food is not always available, so often we buy it from our own money to feed them,’ Essamelddine Hajjar, a manager at Al-Qureshi park said.
Al-Qureshi park in Khartoum where big cats received food on Sunday after zoo officials bought it with their own money
The four lions at Khartoum’s Al-Qureshi Park have been suffering from shortages of food and medicine for several weeks
Flies swarm over the lioness’s face as she basks in the sunlight. Online calls are growing to save the lions from the nightmare zoo
Lions are classified as a ‘vulnerable’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Park officials said the lions’ conditions had deteriorated recently with some losing almost two-thirds of their body weight
Chunks of rotten meat covered in flies lay scattered near the cages.
An online campaign under the slogan #Sudananimalrescue has been launched to try and help the starving lions
Sudan is in the midst of a worsening economic crisis, led by soaring food prices and foreign currency shortage
A malnourished lion walks in his cage at the Al-Qureshi park in the Sudanese capital Khartoum
Sudanese citizens and activists have launched a social media campaign to save four lions from starvation after complaints that they were not receiving their daily quota of meat
The overall condition of the park itself was also affecting the animals’ health, another official at the park said
A lion stares out of its cage at the park inside the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The animals have lost almost two thirds of their body weight after not receiving food or medicine for weeks