• Three elderly lions - Leah and Meeka (both 22 years old) and Mambila (15) - were humanely euthanased today due to degenerative, age-related, health issues that all three cats were experiencing. One pride consisting of two lions remains at Orana.
• At the time of their passing, Leah and Meeka were the oldest lions in the Australasian region.
• The family group, all born at Orana Wildlife Park, had lived together their entire lives and in the past few months had been under close veterinary observation and treatment.
• Lions are highly social animals. The decision to euthanase the highly bonded family group together was made on compassionate animal welfare grounds, in line with a science-based framework, the Five Domains model of Animal Welfare.

Orana Wildlife Park announced today the compassionate euthanasia of three beloved elderly lions, following months of declining health.

Chief Executive, Rachel Haydon said, “Today is a very sad day for our team. It is with heavy hearts and much sadness we share the news of the passing of three elderly lions – sisters Leah and Meeka (22) and Meeka’s son, Mambila (15) – all due to age-related health concerns.”

The family group, who spent their entire lives together at Orana, had all been under intensive veterinary care and monitoring for degenerative muscle atrophy, suspected arthritis, and other age-related ailments including incontinence.

Dr. Tristan Kamps, Orana's lead veterinarian from Rangiora Vet Centre, explained that the decision to euthanase all three lions together was based on their species-specific social needs.

"Lions are highly social and family-oriented animals," Dr. Kamps said. "Sisters Leah and Meeka lived their entire 22 years together, and Mambila shared a particularly close bond with his mother. Prolonging the decision for one or more animals would have severely compromised their welfare beyond the degenerative issues they were already facing."

He added that leaving one elderly lion alone or attempting to integrate them with Orana's remaining pride of two males would have resulted in a negative welfare state or potentially fatal consequences, given lions' highly territorial nature.

Rachel Haydon says her team is devastated by the passing of these beloved animals. “The agonising decision to euthanase Leah, Meeka and Mambila was not made lightly and was the kindest call for the wellbeing of these majestic animals, allowing them to pass with grace as all three cats were declining in health.”

She noted that the sisters had lived exceptionally long lives and that all three cats surpassed the average life expectancy. While male lions typically live 10–14 years and lionesses slightly longer in the wild, Leah and Meeka reached 22 years, making them the oldest lions in the Australasian region at the time of their passing.

"This longevity is testament to the extraordinary care provided by our dedicated animal and veterinary teams," Rachel added. "Making these heartbreaking decisions is the most difficult part of what we do, but we must always prioritise the animal's wellbeing and right to live with dignity."

“Our team have been closely monitoring the condition of the cats for months due to their advanced age, ensuring they were comfortable and had the very best care.”

“Like all modern zoos around the world, we follow the Five Domains model of Animal Welfare, a science-based framework which is the foundation of how we care for our animals and helps determine what we need to evaluate when making a serious decision such as this.”

“Anyone who has farewelled a beloved animal will understand the depth of emotion people experience at such a loss. Our focus is to wrap around our passionate keepers who worked closely with these precious animals” adds Rachel.

Orana’s carnivore keepers say it was “an absolute privilege” to work with these “incredible and beautiful” animals for many years. Leah is remembered as a very vocal cat and a ‘real lioness’ by the manner in which she carried herself. Meeka is described as a helicopter parent to Mambila, a very protective mum – she would growl at visitors trying to take a photo of him! Mambila was a “Mumma’s boy”, never wandering too far from Meeka, and the team will miss his squeaky roar.

“These lions were treasured members of our whānau, they will be deeply missed by everyone who cared for them throughout their lives and our community who enjoyed meeting them. We are incredibly grateful to our team for their dedication, compassion, and commitment to ensuring all three lions experienced a peaceful and dignified farewell. The cats will leave a large void being such long-standing members of our animal family”, concludes Rachel.

Orana Wildlife Park

Orana Wildlife Park is New Zealand’s only open range zoo and is home to over 1000 animals from more than 90 different species including New Zealand’s only gorillas. The Park, which will celebrate 50 years of operation in September 2026, is owned and operated by Orana Wildlife Trust, a registered charitable trust. The Trust is committed to the conservation of wildlife diversity on this planet. Our aims, along with being dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and the welfare of our animals, are to provide education, recreation and enjoyment to the public and to support research relating to endangered animals. The Trust is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia (ZAA).

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