African Lion

(Panthera leo krugeri)

The Zoo is home to three adult African lions that arrived in December 2011 from an animal park outside Pretoria, South Africa. There is one male, Chester, born in September 2010 and two females: Zuri, born in September 2010 and Asha, born in January of 2011.

Animal Facts

Lions roar in chorus. This may be a form of social bonding and the roars can be heard as far as five miles away!

In the wild, most male lions live between five and nine years, while females live until 15 or 16 years. In the Serengeti, females have lived up to 18 years.

Individual lions can be identified by their unique whisker spot pattern, similar to how our fingerprints are used.

Most cat species are solitary, but lions are social and live in groups called prides

Females do most of the hunting in a pride, sometimes in a group. Hunting typically takes place at night.

Diet

Large ungulates, birds, rodents, fish, ostrich eggs, amphibians and reptiles. Lions also actively scavenge, taking cues from hyenas and vultures.

Status in The Wild

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

African lions are most common in plains or savanna habitat.

African lions are protected under CITES Appendix II. They are part of the Zoo’s Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program. It is believed that during the past two decades, the lion population has declined by nearly 30 percent. Main threats listed by IUCN are indiscriminate killing by humans and prey base depletion. Other problems include habitat loss, agricultural expansion and geographic isolation of different groups.