Greenville Zoo mourns Saied, an African lion euthanized after his health deteriorated

Saied, a beloved African lion at the Greenville Zoo has died.

Zoo officials reported Tuesday the 15-year-old male lion was euthanized due to the rapid and irreversible worsening of his degenerative joint and spinal neurological issues.

"He had been under treatment for these orthopedic changes and was being monitored with blood work and other diagnostic testing," said Beth Brotherton, the City of Greenville spokesperson, in a statement announcing Saied's death. "(Tuesday) morning he showed more negative progression that further impacted his quality of life. Zoo staff met to discuss his health status and the consensus for his wellbeing was for him to be humanely euthanized."

In 2010, Saied and his brother Chuma came to the Greenville Zoo from Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo. Saied was described as the "dominant" male of the pair and "less playful" than Chuma but smart and easy to train. Veterinarians and zookeepers will closely monitor Chuma as he adjusts to Saied's death, zoo officials said.

The zoo is working on plans for a remembrance of Saied and ways for the community to share condolences.

Nina Tran covers trending topics. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville Zoo's African lion Saied euthanized after health fails