An Update From the Zoo's Lion Keepers
April 2007
More Time Outdoors for Everyone
Spring is here, and the lions are all enjoying the warmer weather. We are now extending the amount of time that each of the lions spends outdoors by using two of the three yards at Great Cats each afternoon for lions instead of using two for tigers all day long. In the morning, we put the tiger cubs in one yard, Rokan (the cubs' father) in a second yard, and two of our three new lions, Nababiep and Shera, in the third. At about 1 p.m., Soyono, joins her cubs in their yard, and Rokan, Nababiep, and Shera come inside. Our older lion, Lusaka, goes into one yard, and our new male lion, Luke, goes into the other yard.
Felines With a Social Life
Lusaka is still getting used to sharing the building with the new lions but is adjusting well. She continues to live next to Luke and can see him through a mesh introductory door. While they still try to intimidate each other once in a while, they are displaying a lot of positive interaction as well. Luke has begun to join Lusaka in her morning vocalizations and they are occasionally caught giving each other a head rub, both of which are common interactions between lions in a pride. We anticipate that Lusaka will be more accepting of Luke as his mane grows in further, and we are starting to discuss the possibility of introducing them formally (without a mesh door between them) so that we’ll be ready when the time is right.
While interactions among Naba, Shera, and Luke have all been positive, we are focusing on the progress between Luke and Lusaka and have not made plans to formally introduce Luke and the new lionesses. We have confirmed that Luke is not related by blood to Naba and Shera and we hope they will breed in the future after Luke becomes a fully mature adult.
Training
While Lusaka is a pro at her training, the three new arrivals are just getting started. They have all grasped the concept of targeting; all they have to do is touch their nose to the target and they hear a whistle which is accompanied by a meatball. Nababiep is much more calm and cautious in her demeanor while Luke and Shera are highly motivated but have a bit of trouble staying focused through their excitement. We are working on lying down and sitting. Opening their mouths will be the next behavior to learn.
Training is important for enrichment, exercising their minds, bonding with keepers, and for checking their daily health. As they advance, we will be able to ask them to present themselves to do daily visuals of their teeth and paw pads.
Tipping the Scales
When we weighed the lions last week, Luke was at 256 pounds, Shera at 278 pounds, and Nababiep tipped the scales at 287 pounds. We have been working on trimming Lusaka up a bit and she looks fabulous at 253 pounds. While our younger females have about reached their adult size, Luke may be only halfway there. To keep up with his fast pace of growth, he eats nine pounds of meat a day!
Now is a great time to see all of the Zoo's great cats enjoying the beautiful weather. If you're at the Zoo during the weekend and have any questions, be sure to join us for the keeper talk at 2:30, in front of the lion and tigers yards.
