As zoo lions live longer through improved veterinary care, geriatric welfare — including pain management for arthritis and dignity in end-of-life decisions — becomes increasingly important.
Geriatric lion welfare is an emerging zoo medicine specialty as improving care extends lifespans into territory where chronic disease management becomes central. Arthritis in aging lions causes significant pain that may be masked by the stoic behavioral repertoire of large predators — lions evolved to conceal vulnerability, meaning pain expression is subtle and easily missed. Routine pain scoring using validated feline pain scales, adapted for lion body language, enables earlier intervention. Dental disease causes chronic pain and affects food intake; regular anesthetic dental examinations and extractions are indicated. End-of-life decision-making should be welfare-centered, with quality of life frameworks guiding the timing of euthanasia decisions rather than institutional or financial considerations.