CANBERRA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A pair of bonded lions at a zoo in South Australia have been euthanized after the male suffered a medical episode.

The Adelaide Zoo on Thursday announced the deaths of its only African lions, including Australia's oldest lioness.

The lions, Amani and Mujambi, were euthanized on Thursday morning after 19-year-old male Mujambi suffered a medical episode over the weekend.

Zookeepers said that the decision was made to also euthanize Amani, the 23-year-old lioness, due to concerns over her welfare following the death of her closely bonded mate.

"They were both aged, they were both under medical treatment for quite some time and we really didn't want Amani's last, what might have been months, to be pining for the male that she'd been partnered with for so long," Elaine Bensted, chief executive of Zoos South Australia, told reporters.

The lions were a bonded pair for 16 years. Amani arrived at the zoo in 2002 and Mujambi in 2007.

Adelaide Zoo director Phil Ainsley said that unlike tigers, which can live in isolation, African lions are a social species and that integrating Amani into another pride or environment was considered to not be in her best interests.

He said that the zoo has had lions for 140 of its 141-year history but that it would not be able to house lions again until it secures funding for a new habitat.

The enclosure that housed Amani and Mujambi will be turned into an expanded area for the zoo's Sumatran tigers. Enditem

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