A final recommendation on the lion’s fate will be announced Thursday to the Ministers of Environment, and Agriculture and Livestock, followed by a public announcement.
Laboratory tests conducted on the lion last month showed symptoms of chronic kidney disease. Results are now under evaluation in a laboratory in the United States.
With just over two weeks left of the year, reports of animal abuse have already surpassed by 15 percent those recorded last year, the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) reported Friday.
A first tiny cub - pink, hairless and only about the size of an adult mouse - was born at 5:35 pm (2135 GMT) Saturday and Mei Xiang reacted by tenderly picking up it up. Just when conservationists thought they had heard all the good news, the zoo tweeted: "We can confirm a second cub was born at 10:07. It appears healthy. #PandaStory."