The powerful carnivore was put down about nine months ago and was kept in a freezer ever since. The dissection is scheduled to be held on October 15, 2015.
"Be there when one of the zoo’s employees dissects a lion. There will be explanations when the animal is cut up and the heart, lungs and other body parts will be displayed. If there is a wish to closely study body parts, that will be possible and the whole thing will be geared toward dialogue," says a statement posted on the zoo’s official website, according to The Local Denmark.
Despite the fact that the Copenhagen Zoo's decision to kill and publicly dissect the giraffe Marius in 2014 caused a wave of international outrage, the Odense Zoo authorities do not expect a similar reaction.
"A dissection reveals the lion’s anatomy and what makes it a good predator. Children are so curious they practically crawl into the carcass. It’s an authentic and scientific experience," said Michael Wallberg Sorensen, one of the park's zoologists, according to the Copenhagen Post.
The Local also points out that according to the Odense Zoo's official website, it had already dissected a lion on January 25 this year, and that the event attracted almost no media attention.
"We haven’t previously experienced people getting angry so we don’t anticipate it this time either," Sorensen remarked, according to the news outlet.
