Saying Goodbye To Adelor

I love my job. I love getting to go places and see things not everyone gets to experience. Whether it’s going behind the scenes at Goose Island Beer Company or looking over the shoulder of an orthopaedic surgeon in their operating room… I get to see some pretty cool stuff.

One of my favorite shoot locations is Lincoln Park Zoo, and my favorite animals to shoot video of are the big cats. Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to one.

Adelor, the zoo’s male lion, was euthanize after suffering geriatric-related health problems. He was 18-years-old.

Adelor was everything you could hope for in a lion. He had a regal mane and a loud roar you could hear all over the park. I used to love walking up to the zoo’s gate in the morning and hearing him. Of course, he never seemed to do it when I pointed my camera at him. I’m sure he was toying with me.

Get a brief glimpse of Adelor: LP Zoo “About Us”LP Zoo Events

Lincoln Park Zoo is well-known for its conservation and science initiatives. One of them even involves vaccinating African dogs to prevent the spread of diseases like rabies to lions. So while the public may have simply seen a magical looking animal, in many ways Adelor and all the animals there represent a bigger mission.

I’ll miss Adelor. I’ll miss hearing that roar, but it’s comforting to know our zoo is helping keep alive the roars of lions all over the African Serengeti.

–Tony Gnau