Kamalia and Iranga came to Woodland Park Zoo in 2019 after receiving a breeding recommendation with male lion Xerxes. Breeding was never successful as the dynamics within the herd changed as the sisters grew, and sadly the elderly Xerxes was humanely euthanized in February of this year due to kidney failure. The African Lion Species Survival Program, an accredited zoo-wide breeding program to ensure healthy and self-sustaining populations of lions, is now recommending new potential mates for Kamalia at Granby Zoo. ing.

It’s always bittersweet to see an animal go away, but Kamalia keepers are confident that it will continue to grow and adapt quickly to new homes, companions and keepers.

“The Kamalia are playful, curious, and always ready to interact with their keepers,” says head keeper Christine Ann. “Kamalia surprised me by how happy she was playing in the water at the exhibition, chasing ducks, and soaking nutritional items in the water. I hope to have her.She will be missed by all the keepers.”

It is not uncommon for adult lions, male or female, to leave their pride. Meanwhile, a new male lion arrived this week to live with langa in the zoo’s African savannah habitat. Breeding two lions is not recommended at this time, but the pairing will provide each lion with social interactions that are important to the species.

The Kamalia and Iranga are Panthera leo krugeri, a subspecies of the South African lion known as the Transvaal Lion. The South African lion subspecies inhabits grasslands, savannahs, and open forest areas from the southern Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rainforest zone. These lions range in weight from 260 pounds to over 400 pounds.

Two subspecies of the African lion were placed on the Endangered Species Act in 2015 as wild populations have plummeted by 40% over the past two decades. With only an estimated 20,000 to 23,000 African lions remaining in the wild, their future remains uncertain, especially as human population growth continues to affect lion populations through habitat loss. Lions are a menace to humans and livestock and may be killed retaliatory.

The Woodland Park Zoo lion landscape Programs in and around Ruaha National Park. The program protects his 10% of the wild lion population remaining in the habitat. The program continues to add members and is focused on mitigating the main threat of human-carnivore conflict in the Ruaha region.