Two years ago, we welcomed our three lion brothers Chobe, Karoo and Ruaha to a temporary Wild Florida habitat. The trio has now officially moved to their permanent, expansive Expedition Africa home! This across-the-Zoo move wasn’t nearly as complicated as moving them across the State – but it’s definitely not a simple task to move three nearly 500-pound lions to a new habitat either!
This process took a lot of coordination among our animal care and veterinary teams to ensure a safe, thorough process. The trio have been safely moved to their new home, where they will acclimate away from most public eyes until the official opening of our completed Expedition Africa loop on Saturday, November 16. We can’t wait for you to enjoy this area with all-new beautiful views.
Until then, we’d love to share how exactly you move a lion.
Rolling Out the Welcome Mat – Again!
As you might expect, a plan was created for this move well-ahead of moving day! All members of the moving crew joined multiple meetings to go over every detail of this transition.
Ahead of the move, our animal care and veterinary teams fully inspected both lion habitats (Expedition Africa and Wild Florida). The lion trio had been housed completely in their nighthouse the night before the move. Once everything is secure and all our teams are ready, the process began!
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that taking three lions to the veterinarian for a check-up can logistically be complicated. So, our animal care and veterinary teams decided to make good use of the lions’ sedation for the move to give them all a complete check-up.
Each lion was sedated before being moved to the hospital for an individual full exam that included x-rays, bloodwork, physical exams and ultrasounds – the trio received a full work-up. We also brought in two specialists: Dr. Elizabeth McMorran for dental exams and Dr. Luiz Bolfer of Central Florida Veterinary Cardiology for echocardiograms of the trio’s hearts.”
Once their exam was complete, each lion was carefully moved to their new nighthouse space in the Expedition Africa habitat. There, our animal care team carefully monitored them to ensure they recovered from sedation well. They’ll spend some time in the nighthouse acclimating to the space and developing the understanding that this is their new home.
Once their animal care team feels they’ve settled in well, the lion trio will begin exploring their larger habitat. While it’s possible you’ll see them from our original boardwalk, the best views of them and their space will come on Saturday, Nov. 16 when the new boardwalk loop is open to the public!
So, What’s Happening with the Lion’s Old Home?
The most immediate plan for the lion’s former home in Wild Florida will be an expanded retirement home for Pepper the cheetah by December. At 16 years old (well above the median lifespan of 12 for this species), Pepper continues to comfortably age with us. We’re dedicated to ensuring all our animal residents live a full life with us, and we’re hopeful this larger habitat will be another good fit for Pepper.
We have some new residents planned for Pepper’s current Rainforest Revealed retirement home – we hope to share more once plans are solidified! There’s always something new to see at the Zoo.
Ready to celebrate all things Expedition Africa with us?
More than 20 years ago, we introduced you to our incredible Expedition Africa experience with opportunities to feed giraffes, kayak past an “African” veldt and take a train through an animal habitat. The adventure continues!
While we know you’re excited to see the new lion habitat, don’t miss out on these special experiences:
- Book an Okapi Encounter for a special visit with George the okapi.
- Take a trip around our Africa habitats on a newly refreshed kayaking experience.
- Check out new views of some of your favorite animals, like our ring-tailed lemur conspiracy or our rhino crash when our expanded loop opens on Saturday, Nov. 16!
Special thanks to Flammio Financial Group, Stifel-Garvin Wealth Management Group, Artemis IT, and Jim and Darleen Barfield. Their generosity makes our work possible!
Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.