Yorkshire Wildlife Park: Lion knocked out for big cat 'MOT'

Julie the lioness was put under anaesthetic for an hour for a full health check at the park in Doncaster

A 15-year-old lioness has been given a clean bill of health after she was knocked out for "an MOT" at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Julie, who's one of the six lions at the Doncaster park, was put under anaesthetic for keepers to investigate the big cat's stomach problems.

Staff also used the opportunity of her being unconscious for an hour to run other heath tests.

Captive lions usually live to about 20, several years longer than in the wild.

Kim Wilkins, head of carnivores at the park, said Julie had been presenting with a lack of appetite so they decided to do a full check.

Julie lives in the seven-acre Lion Country area of the park along with Ares, Simba, Maria, Carla and Crystal

She said: "This is something we wanted to investigate further, to check there was nothing sinister going on, and it gave us the opportunity to do a full health check on her."

Ms Wilkins said Julie was given an ultrasound to check on her gastrointestinal tracts, a blood test to check on her liver and kidney function and a check of her joints.

"It's an opportunity to give her a full MOT, really," she said.

Ms Wilkins said she accepted an injection to put her under sedation without staff having to use a dart gun

She said the good news is that Julie appears to be in good health, despite her advancing years.

After waking, she said she was "a bit groggy - like after a night out on the town - but she's recovered brilliantly".

Julie has been at the park since 2010 when she and 12 other lions were brought over from a dilapidated zoo in Romania.