Oldest Lion Celebrates 20th Birthday With Zoo Party

A lioness born in capitivity has celebrated its 20th birthday by popping balloons in her Valencia zoo enclosure.

The lioness (Panthera leo melanochaita ) named Fa was born in the ‘Viveros Zoo’ in the city of Valencia in the eastern Spanish region of the same name and has spent its entire life in captivity.

She was moved to the Valencia Bioparc in 2007 and is the oldest animal of the group that moved to the Bioparc Zoo with her.

The video shows the moment Fa relaxes on the grass. The footage then shows a small display prepared by zoo staff to honour its 20th birthday.

Fa is seen running around a large tree branch popping balloons surrounding it with the number ‘20’ and several gifts on the ground.

The lioness is later seen relaxing on the grass again as other animals native to Africa roam around in the background.

Local media report the staff had marked the day to have a public celebration as cases of lions living past 15 years are very rare in Europe.

Local media report Fa may be Spain’s longest-living lion in history but this has not been confirmed.

The park is part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) which is a breeding program that manages the population of animals of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria for threatened species.

The park is currently closed to keep everyone safe from the coronavirus pandemic.