ERIE — The Erie Zoo's 14-year-old lion Simba has died suddenly.

Zoo president and chief executive Scott Mitchell says the lion stopped eating one day last week and died the next day.

He says a lab will conduct blood tests to determine the cause of death.

Simba came to Erie in 1998 from Omaha, Neb., and lived with two lionesses.

Mitchell says Simba was well known for his roar, which echoed across the zoo grounds and in nearby neighborhoods.