Visakhapatnam, Sep 30 (IANS): A 20-year-old lioness died at an animal rescue centre here due to age related ailments.

"The lioness was around 20 years old and died due to age related issues," Nandani Salaria, curator at the Visakhapatnam Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, told IANS.

The big cat stopped eating a couple of days ago, prompting the zoo officials to put her on treatment.

The lioness was rescued in 2003 from Ajanta Circus and spent the rest of her life at the rescue centre.

According to Salaria, the lioness lived a long life as 20 years is considered a lot in case of felines.

"In captivity, the age of an animal is slightly more than what it is in the wild. In the wild, it will be generally around 15 years. In captivity, it could be 16-18 years," she said.

Salaria said that all the lions in the rescue centre have lived long lives as they are better taken care of in captivity.

The Indian Forest Service officer also clarified that the rescued animals are not mixed with zoo animals.

"Once an animal is rescued, it is only kept in the rescue centre and not mixed with the zoo animals. There is a proper procedure to be followed where the animals are to be kept. So nothing happens without the permission of the central zoo authority (CZA)," she said.

However, on some occasions, with the permission of the CZA, a rescued animal may be used for inbreeding.

Salaria pointed out that animals rescued from circuses, man-animal conflict areas or elsewhere are generally under a lot of stress.