15 Years, 0 Offspring. Subali is a zoo lion and his species, the Asiac lion (Panthera leo persica), is threatened with exitinction. Is it legit to to kill him off to make place for another, younger, more potent lion? What is more important: to protect the whole species or the life of the individual?
Zoo director Dag Encke, animal keeper Alexandra Hoffmann and conservation programme coordinator Rikke Nielsen tried to answer these questions in an reportage written by Astrid Probst and published by german weekly magazine
„DIE ZEIT“ 06/2022 and Go Magazine #16.
The Asiatic Lion Subali is seen inside his enclosure at the Nuremberg Zoo. Before beeing moved to Nuremberg, he had already lived in three other european zoos. In 2020, zoo director Dag Encke speculated in a podcast whether it would be possible to kill the 15-year-old and possibly sterile lion in order to replace him with a another induvidual from the population management programme. The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is an endangered species with only one wild population left in the Gir-Nationalpark in India.
Rikke Kruse Nielsen, curator at the Aalborg Zoo in Denkmark, poses for a portrait. She is the coordinator for Asiatic Lions of the EAZA Ex-situ Programme, a population management and conservation programme by european zoos. In this role, she gets to decide which lions make the best pairs to keep genetic diversity in the small zoo population of around 150 animals.
Close up of the Asiatic Lion Subali in the building housing the lions and tigers
at the Nuremberg Zoo.
The Asiatic Lion Subali (left) and his female partner Aarany are lying in the lions enclosure at the Nuremberg Zoo.
Dag Encke, Director of the Nuremberg Zoo poses for a portrait in the „Desert House“ at the Nuremberg Zoo. He caused a public outcry after an interview in a podcast. He discussed the hypothetical possibility of having Subali killed off and replaced with a younger lion in case there would be no lion offspring in the next years. In practical terms, it is not allowed in Germany to kill off a zoo lion for that reason due to various laws regarding animal welfare.
Animal keeper Alexandra Hoffmann poses for a portrait in the building housing the lions and tigers at the Nuremberg Zoo. She takes care of Subali and Aarany and keeps a little diary of what happens in their life. A part of their joint routine are training exercises which intend to prepare Subali to have his blood drawn without anesthesia.
The Asiatic Lion Subali and his female partner Aarany are seen in the lions enclosureat the Nuremberg Zoo.
