Lioness dies in Odesa zoo

One of the lionesses kept in the municipal institution Odesa Zoo died at the age of 23.

This was announced by the zoo director Igor Bilyakov.

"I have just seen that blogger Karapetyan accused Odesa Zoo of the lioness's death online. When our animal dies, it is very sad for us. But Ms. Anzhelika either deliberately or out of ignorance did not say that the lioness died at the age of twenty-three. In terms of human age, this is more than a hundred years. It is extremely rare for lions to live to that age. And this is proof that our lioness has been well cared for all her life," the zoo director wrote.

According to activist Anzhelika Karapetyan, the animal died on March 11.

It should be noted that in November 2025, Igor Bilyakov called the 21-year-old lioness the pride of the Odesa Zoo.

Earlier, the bear Boomer, who was relocated to the Odesa Zoo in 2019 from the Podilsky Zoo in Vinnytsia region, died.

In January, the Odesa Zoo accused animal rights activists of fakes that blocked the work of the institution. As a result, employees cannot fully care for the animals. Due to such activities, the institution is forced to constantly undergo audits, which distracts staff from caring for animals and creates artificial tension among employees.

According to the administration, the accusations spread by animal rights activists have signs of manipulation and are used to demand the transfer of animals to other zoos or the actual termination of the institution's activities. These actions have no legal or expert justification and pose a threat to the existence of the Odesa Zoo.

Last year, in November, the Prymorskyi District Prosecutor's Office opened criminal proceedings against the director of the Odesa Zoo , Ihor Bilyakov, who was charged with animal cruelty. This was done following a statement by the NGO UAnimals. At that time, the zoo's lawyers were preparing a lawsuit about the damage caused to the municipal institution by the attacks of animal activists.

Кирило Бойко