Maryland Zoo Euthanizes 18-Year-Old Lioness

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Maryland Zoo has euthanized an aging lioness after the big cat became lethargic over the weekend and began to rapidly decline.

Officials at the zoo in Baltimore say that Cuma was euthanized late Sunday. They say the 18-year-old lioness had been in gradual decline with several afflictions related to her age and that she got a lot worse in recent days.

Cuma had been living at the Maryland Zoo since 2007 after she was born in Philadelphia and spent a decade at the Dallas Zoo. She was joined in Baltimore by a male lion named Hassan in late 2008, and zoo officials say the two became close companions.

The zoo now has four lions, three 1-year-old cubs, and Hassan, the father of two of the cubs.