OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Zoo has announced the death of an 18-year-old African lion that had been at the zoo since 2007.

A statement on the zoo’s website says the lion named Aslan died Friday. The zoo said the lion had been diagnosed with an enlarged spleen in January and that a biopsy of the spleen found the animal had small cell lymphoma. The disease is an aggressive form of cancer that is resistant to treatment.

The zoo says the decision to euthanize the lion was made when he became noticeably weak and could no longer stand up.

Aslan came to the Oklahoma City Zoo from the Knoxville Zoo in 2007 and sired four lion cubs that were moved as a group to the El Paso Zoo in January 2010.

Read more: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/state/african-lion-euthanized-at-oklahoma-city-zoo#ixzz1rTiaqHuf