The Young Lions Are in Poor Shape

While his brothers repeatedly experienced problems with their musculoskeletal systems as they grew, everything seemed to bounce right off him. It was therefore all the more unexpected when the first signs of impairment began to appear in the form of seizures, which seemed to be causing him more and more trouble. And although every anesthesia carries a risk, it eventually became unavoidable to anesthetize the big cat in order to perform some further tests : a blood count and X-rays. The X-ray machine was brought from the veterinary office to the lion house specifically for this purpose, to spare the animal a long trip.

Both the anesthesia and the examinations went according to plan; after an hour, everything was finished, Spartacus was brought out of anesthesia, and he recovered from the ordeal in the lion house.

Lion Tiberius is also under veterinary observation due to increasing musculoskeletal problems. We can only hope that the results of the examination will not necessitate further euthanasia—a path that Lion Maximus had to take back in September 2023.