An Update From the Zoo's Lion Keepers
July 2007
Pride in Our Lions
Last October, the only lion claiming the Zoo as her territory—an adult female named Lusaka—was joined by three newcomers from a breeding facility in South Africa: Luke (age one), Shera (age two) and her older sister, Nababiep (age three).
While Lusaka has adjusted to the new lions, she has not formed a pride with them. After lots of observations by our Great Cats team, we decided that it would be unlikely that Lusaka would bond with the younger females but we felt there was a chance that she might do well with Luke. Since Lusaka can no longer breed (she is spayed) and Luke is still too young to breed, the pair would simply be together for companionship rather than as a breeding pair.
Lots of time, patience and observation goes into a lion introduction. Luke and Lusaka have lived in adjoining dens separated by a locked-down mesh door where they can safely interact since November. It wasn’t love at first sight but as Luke has grown and taken on masculine characteristics of a lion, including deep pronounced vocalizations and a fuller mane, Lusaka has become more accepting of him. They now vocalize together both inside and when outside in separate yards. We also observe them rubbing heads through the mesh door that separates them and on occasion have seen Luke licking Lusaka’s head.
As a team we have made the decision to move forward with Luke and Lusaka by doing an actual introduction. Introductions require a great amount of caution and are done only with a full Great Cats keeper staff, curator, and, in case of an emergency, a veterinarian. At this time we have completed just three introductions, including one today, and they have gone very well so far. We will continue to work with Luke and Lusaka as long as they continue to show interest in each other.
As sisters, Nababiep and Shera naturally make wonderful companions and can be seen playing outside together in the morning. Luke and Lusaka can be seen in separate yards during the afternoon.
Training
All the lions are moving right along in their training. In April the only established behavior was targeting. We started with this behavior because it helps the lions grasp the concept of training; they learn to associate the sound of a whistle and the reward of a meatball with a correct behavior. At that time we were starting to work on sitting and lying down. All lions are now sitting down and lying down when asked without hesitation. They have also learned to tolerate fly-repellant spray on their ears during which time they must target as they have been trained to do and keep their heads down so it doesn’t get into their eyes.
We are now moving onto more important behaviors with the lions. All are currently learning to open their mouths so we can get a good look at their teeth. If a tooth gets broken, we will be able to catch it within a day once this behavior is learned. The veterinarians would then determine the severity of the tooth and determine the appropriate treatment.
Shera is the most excited about training and learns behaviors quickly. She picked up the behavior of opening her mouth and is learning to hold it open long enough for me to get a good look.
Naba is the most focused during training exercises but learns behaviors a bit more slowly. Until a couple of weeks ago she was clearly trying to learn the behaviors but only did them half way. One day it was as if something just clicked and Naba started accelerating in her training with confidence and doing her behaviors perfectly.
Luke gets a bit overly excited about training and it takes a few minutes for him to focus. Sometimes we resort back to targeting as the first behavior to get him started, then he’s ready to work.
Tipping the Scales
We continue to get weights weekly on all the lions. As of July 13, Shera was 289 pounds, Nababiep tipped the scales at 300 pounds, Luke is already 328 pounds, and Lusaka has lost all of the weight that we hoped she would, putting her at 234 pounds. Lusaka is healthy at a lower weight as she is now 16 years old and beginning to show her age through a bit if stiffness. Luke still has more than 100 pounds of growing to do and continues to eat nine pounds of meat a day to keep up with his fast pace of growth!
Come enjoy all of our Great Cats between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you have any cat questions, be sure to join us on a Saturday or Sunday at 2:30, when keepers are available in front of the lion and tigers yards.
