Sunshine, a white African lion at the Cincinnati Zoo, died following surgery. He was 17 -years- old. The average age of white lions living in North American zoos is 16.8 years.
The zoo says he and his brother Future were loaned permanently by Sigfried and Roy in 1998. Future was euthanized in December, 2014.
“Sunshine had been living alone since December,” said Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo executive director. “White lions are social animals, so the best option for Sunshine was to get him in with our two females. Quality of life for our animals is our number one priority.”
According to the zoo, Sunshine died after getting a vasectomy. Breeding is not recommended for white lions.