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Female Lion Loses Battle With Cancer
BY: Rod HackneySep. 03, 2010
A female lion was euthanized at the North Carolina Zoo Friday morning after veterinarians determined that mammary cancer had spread to the point that she would not recover. 
The 12-year-old female had been at the N.C Zoo since 2002 after being transferred from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. According to Zoo Senior Veterinarian Dr. Ryan DeVoe, the lion has only been diagnosed with the problem two weeks ago, but her condition had declined rapidly.
"The cancer had metastasized to the lungs and she was suffering," DeVoe said. "There was nothing we could do for her."
Meanwhile, the zoo's nine-year-old male lion remains on exhibit and in good health. Efforts to find a replacement for the female have not yet begun. There are currently no other lions in the collection.