Behind the scenes with Hondo, Hatari, and Azizi

Hello! Your friendly Carnivore Keeper Adrianna here today to talk to you about how the lions are doing now that construction has started in their habitat! However, I think I should start at the beginning.

Earlier this year, we got the incredible news that the lion habitat had been selected for a big update! Our team had gotten together for many meetings to dream up some ideas for what a revised lion habitat could look like. We worked together to come up with ideas that would benefit the lions, the guests, and maybe a few ideas to make our jobs as their care team a little easier. Then, the management team took our big pie in the sky ideas to an incredible team of architects and contractors who put our collective thoughts onto paper.

With the plans for the habitat set, it was time to put them into motion. We had discussed what to do with the lions while construction was happening, and a lot of thought went into that. We are quite unique in that we have three adult male lions. Typically, when you think of lions you think of a pride consisting of one adult male lion with multiple adult female lions and their offspring, but we have three adult male lions, who are brothers, and no females.

The Zoo’s lions are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan® (SSP),  which recommends certain animals from AZA facilities to breed or not based on genetics and population status. Based on many factors, the Zoo’s lions have not been given a breeding recommendation. Basically, because of prolific parents, their genes are represented well in the AZA lion population, and the goal is to keep the gene pool diverse, so their offspring would not benefit the population. Therefore, the Zoo’s lion boys have been recommended to remain here at Zoo Atlanta as a coalition of lions.

What’s a coalition? In this instance, it is a group of related adult male lions. This has been observed in the wild and in human care as well, where adult male lions continue to live together typically because they are related and have grown up together. With the Zoo’s coalition, the goal is to continue to have the boys live together. Sending them each to different zoos with the space for an additional male lion during construction, and then bringing them all back, most likely would not have worked out well. The social dynamic of lions can be sensitive. Separating this coalition of lions for even a short time would alter how they interact with one another, and would, most likely, result in them never living in the same group again. Luckily, the Zoo’s lion habitat has a whole other behind-the-scenes outdoor area that we can use during construction! This means that they all can remain here at the Zoo while still being able to enjoy going outside during construction, while having access to indoor areas as well.

Once construction started, we watched their behavior closely, provided extra enrichment, and began training them more often to ensure their wellbeing. They have adapted to the situation beautifully and act as if nothing has changed! Over the next few months, we will continue to update you on how the Zoo’s lion boys are doing and how things are going with the amazing transformation of their habitat!

(Photo: Adrianna R.)

Adrianna R.
Keeper III, Mammals