The lioness, named Buddy, was reportedly suffering from diabetes and had been ill for some time.

Zoo sources said that the lioness had only reproduced once in her life when she gave birth to three cubs.

The lion enclosure’s curator Usman Bukhari said that the lioness had completed her life expectancy.

He added that the lioness would undergo a post-mortem examination and the report would hopefully reveal more details about the illness.

A 27-year-old lioness had died after a prolonged illness in the same zoo in 2011. Sources had later claimed that unhygienic food had been to balme for the sudden worsening in the lioness’s condition.

The plight of animals in Pakistan’s zoos has come into sharper relief after multiple incidents of animals dying due to illness or neglect.

The case that made most headlines across the country involved Noor Jehan, an aged elephant, who died in the Karachi Zoo from a blood parasite.

The fallout from the incident had been so severe that the other elephant at the zoo, Madhubala, had to be shifted to the Safari park to prevent a deterioration in her condition.

Elsewhere in the country, zoos have been trying to find ways to bolster funding to take care of animals. In Peshawar, the city’s zoo offered an adoption scheme where citizens could contribute to an animal’s well being.