The San Francisco Zoo announced the passing of 20-year-old African lioness Sukari via Twitter on Thursday morning.
“Sukari, which means ‘sugar’ in Swahili, was stoic in nature,” the zoo said. “However, once you got to know her, she would melt your heart.”
Her son, Jasiri, still resides at the zoo.
“Sukari loved horse shanks, pork loin and goat’s milk,” the zoo tweeted. “She loved to play soccer with her indestructible boomer balls, playing in the habitat’s moated area and slamming the balls against the walls.”