The Oregon Zoo’s Oldest African Lion, Neka, Dies at 16

The loss of Neka, who had a fatal seizure Friday, has been "heartbreaking" for the zoo

The Oregon Zoo is mourning one of its longtime residents.

On Saturday, the zoo announced that its oldest African lion, Neka, had died at age 16. According to a press release the zoo sent to PEOPLE, Neka was born at the Virginia Zoo in 2007, and moved to the Oregon Zoo’s Predators of the Serengeti habitat two years later. In her lifetime, Neka mothered three cubs, all in 2013 — and each of them is now living at other accredited zoos across the country.

Sadly, Neka endured a fatal seizure just before her passing on Friday. At 16, she was considered “geriatric” for her species.

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“This is a heartbreaking day, especially for her care staff,” Kelly Gomez, who oversees the zoo’s Africa area, stated in a press release. “Some of our keepers had known Neka for 14 years, since she first arrived at the zoo. When you care for an animal every day like that, for years, you form incredibly close bonds. She was a beloved and beautiful lion, and it will not be the same without her.”

Although Neka lived a long and prosperous life, this is a major loss among conservationists, as African lion populations continue to dwindle.

“Neka touched the hearts of millions of people during her life, and we hope her legacy will be one of inspiration and hope for her species,” Gomez added. “As recently as 25 years ago, lions were common throughout much of East Africa, but populations have been dwindling, and fewer than 25,000 wild lions are now thought to remain.”

This comes a little more than a year after the Oregon Zoo welcomed a new baby orangutan, who was named after Dolly Parton’s hit song “Jolene.” At the time, PEOPLE reported the primate’s name paid homage to the bank teller from the song whose "beauty is beyond compare” with “flaming locks of auburn hair."

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Jolene was born on April 13, 2022, to 20-year-old mother Kitra, a critically endangered Bornean orangutan. At the time, PEOPLE reported that zookeepers gave the mom and baby "plenty of room to bond," so they went several weeks without being able to give Jolene a proper examination. But after determining she was a girl, the name stuck.

"Once we confirmed she was a girl, our keeper team knew right away what they wanted to call her,” the zoo’s primate expert, Kate Gilmore, stated in a press release. “They've been playing the song on repeat ever since!"

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