Beloved elderly lion euthanised at Victorian zoo

Vets at Melbourne's Werribee Open Range Zoo have euthanised elderly lion Tombo after his health deteriorated.

Tombo, a 20-year-old lion who has lived at the Werribee Open Range Zoo for more than a decade, was euthanised by vets yesterday after reduced mobility began impacting on his quality of life.

"Our veterinarians only take this option after the most careful consideration, in particular when there is a very obvious decline in quality of life," the zoo's general manager of life sciences, Russel Traher, said. 

Tonyi, another elderly lion at the zoo, was also euthanised in January his year after suffering arthritis and renal failure.