Sad news for the John Ball Zoo family because their 12-year-old African lion, Bakari, passed away today after a months long battle with cancer. John Ball Zoo says the lioness was diagnosed with lymphoma at the end of last year and has been undergoing chemotherapy and Zoo officials seemed hopeful for her recovery, as her lymph nodes seemed normal and the mass on her neck was gone.

However, John Ball Zoo said her health quickly declined yesterday so the zoo must still confirm what led to Bakari’s death officially but they are confident that her lymphoma returned, leading to her unexpected death.