Investigative Committee to examine circumstances surrounding lion’s death after sedation

The circumstances surrounding the death of a lion transferred from the residence of businessman and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan to Yerevan Zoo after failing to recover from sedation will be examined by Armenia’s Investigative Committee.

 The Investigative Committee confirmed the information.

“The circumstances surrounding the female lion’s failure to recover from sedation will be examined,” the Investigative Committee said. Earlier, Yerevan Zoo confirmed reports that one of the lions transferred from Tsarukyan’s residence had not recovered after being sedated. “With deep regret, we can confirm that the female lion transferred to the zoo the previous day did not recover from sedation due to her advanced age and underlying medical conditions, as confirmed by the post-mortem examination.

The animal’s organ systems had been affected: the spleen, liver, lungs and heart showed pathological changes; there were signs of cholecystitis in the gallbladder, obesity, and free fluid in the abdominal cavity, all of which were the result of age-related changes,” the zoo said in its statement. 

On July 6, law enforcement officers carried out searches at Tsarukyan’s residence and around 70 properties linked to him. As part of the searches, the animals kept at his reception residence — three lions and one tiger — were sedated and transferred to Yerevan Zoo.