TOKYO(National Times)- Three lions at a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are under treatment, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, with the big cats struggling with high humidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40C in recent weeks, qualifying for the new designation \u201ccruelly hot day\u201d, with thousands of people hospitalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten of the 16 lions in Tama Zoological Park have suffered symptoms such as \u201closs of appetite and decreased activity\u201d since mid-July, and three lionesses died, the zoo said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One three-year-old female died on Tuesday, another aged 11 died on Friday, and the third on Sunday aged 15. The Tama Zoological Park said the lion enclosure, where visitors can normally be driven around in zebra-pattern \u201csafari\u201d buses, was closed to the public until further notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAccording to our veterinarian, the cause of the deaths is suspected to be heatstroke\u201d because dehydration and multiple organ failure were observed, a spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven though lions are thought to be resistant to heat, zoo keepers have been strengthening countermeasures to cope with Japan\u2019s summer heat in recent years. Heat here comes with high humidity; that is different from heat with dry air in Africa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The spokeswoman said the heat \u201carrived suddenly\u201d this summer after the rainy season ended in late July. \u201cWe are strengthening measures against the heat (further), sprinkling water, improving ventilation and installing spot air conditioners,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several lions are still being treated, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animal rights group PETA said the lions named Mugi, Ichigo and Luena \u201cwere born, lived, and died in confinement, deprived of everything that makes life worth living for a wild animal\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cZoos are not rescues or sanctuaries; they exist to display animals for profit, not to put animals\u2019 needs first,\u201d PETA said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOKYO(National Times)- Three lions at a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are under treatment, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, with the big cats struggling with high humidity. Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40C in recent weeks, qualifying for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n