Lion keepers at Port Lympne zoo are paying tribute this week to one of the most "ill-tempered big cats" at the park who has died aged 21.

Jade, an Atlas lion, was born on September 10, 1988 to her parents Amaziga and Jebel.

She leaves behind seven cubs, fathered with her life partner Kabir, and has seven grandchildren. Her offspring include daughter Saffiya, who, along with her breeding partner Suliman, is responsible for breeding 10 per cent of all Atlas lions in existence.

Atlas Lions are extinct in the wild after the last member of this regal North African race was shot in the 1920s.

Head of the Big Cat section Richard Barnes said: “Probably one of the most ill-tempered of all our big cats, Jade was one of the section’s true characters.

There will never be a lioness like her again. Even towards the end she was still having one last roar at us.”

Jade was put down due to kidney failure which resulted in dramatic weight loss and her back legs being unable to support her.