Siegfried & Roy's White Lion Dies as Zoo Operates

A mesmerizing male white lion belonging to Siegfried & Roy died yesterday while undergoing a minor procedure at the Toledo Zoo, where he was on loan, reports the Toledo Blade. Fourteen-year-old Legend was being operated on after displaying signs of lameness in his front left foot; he was stable as vets treated three toenails and an infected nailbed, but went into cardiac and respiratory arrest as he was taken off anesthesia. "Animal deaths are always difficult, but Legend’s is even more so because of its sudden and unexpected nature," says the zoo's chief vet. A necropsy is planned. It's not the first white lion death in recent memory: The AP notes that Wisdom, another male, also died during surgery in 2013. The zoo's remaining white lion is Legend's 14-year-old brother, Courage. (More Siegfried and Roy stories.)