Etawah, Dec 3 (IANS): Kesari, a young lion at the Etawah Lion Safari Park, has died after a prolonged illness that had plagued him since April.

Despite extensive medical intervention, Kesari could not be saved.

Kesari was born to Manan and Jennifer at the Lion Breeding Centre, within the Lion Safari, Etawah, on April 15, 2020.

The young lion had been ailing since April this year, and despite relentless efforts by the park’s medical and administrative teams, his health continued to deteriorate.

Suffering from a severe injury to his tail, Kesari also underwent surgery.

However, complications persisted, leading to continuous internal bleeding.

After extensive consultations and in-depth discussions among experts, a decision was made to perform surgery on his hind leg.

Unfortunately, the situation worsened, and he died on Saturday.

Director of Safari, Atul Kant Shukla, said that the carcass has been sent to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, for autopsy and further investigations.

This marks the 15th fatality among the inhabitants of the Safari within a span of 140 days.

The reserved park has been grappling with a series of unfortunate events, with the death toll steadily rising since July when the first of the six cubs of a lioness died.