DUDLEY Zoo's majestic male lion Jetpur has died in his sleep, aged 14.

The Asiatic lion, who was born at the zoo in 2003, passed away in his sleep overnight on Sunday (January 28).

Zoo bosses are now awaiting a full veterinary report to establish the cause of death.

Curator Richard Brown, said: “Jetpur was a very placid lion and was a popular cat with his keepers."

But he said his "legacy will live on", as he sired eight cubs during a decade spent at Mulhouse Zoological and Botanical Park in France, as part of a European conservation programme.

Jetpur then returned to the Castle Hill zoo in 2015 to share the one-acre Lion Ridge enclosure with two lioness sisters, Kyra and Asha.

Richard added: “His offspring have gone on to have a total of 16 cubs and he was also a great-grandfather to a further four.”