Kidney failure continues to affect the health of the lion Kivú, who has already been in the Animal Rescue Center Zoo Ave for two months.
According to Bernardo Jaén, director of the National Animal Health Service (SENASA), kidney failure influences the behavior of the 18-year-old lion. Currently, Kivú’s health remains unstable with episodes of poor appetite and arthritic problems.
At the moment, specialists of the National University, Ministry of Environment and SENASA keep Kivú under strict surveillance. However, in order to assess the conditions of the animal, it is necessary to apply anesthesia, which is quite risky due to Kivú’s age.
The government decided to transfer the lion to a different animal care center on December 5th, aiming to providing better care after a series of citizen complaints that questioned the health of Kivú.
The first 6 weeks of Kivu at Zoo Ave reported good results, however on January 26th, the MINAE unveiled the animal’s complications, which has not been shown to the public since last December.