The lions at Zürich Zoo have a new home
A new attraction for Zürich Zoo and support for lions in India
The opening of the new lions' enclosure marks the addition of yet another big attraction for Zürich Zoo. The enlarged enclosure covers an area of 1700 m2 and reproduces the natural habitat of Indian lions as closely as possible, the idea being to ensure the big cats are kept in species-appropriate conditions and feel at home. Gir Forest in India, which is where the Zürich lions Bhagirath, Aipani and Joy come from, is still home to some 240 animals. Work on development projects in the animals' countries of origin is an integral part of the World Zoo Nature Conservation Strategy, which is the strategy underlying the work of Zürich Zoo as well. Zürich Zoo is therefore helping to finance the creation of a new nature protection reserve for lions in India.
Back in Zürich, meanwhile, the zoo is trying to underscore its role as a center of nature protection by drawing visitors' attention to the conservation needs of flora and fauna and encouraging them to do their part to conserve the earth's biodiversity.
Visitors to the new enclosure can now watch the lions engaged in various activities, whether searching for food, eating, resting or playing. The enclosure also provides plenty of hiding places for the lions to retreat and enjoy some privacy, as well as room for any young they may yet produce. As in the wild, however, the lions will not have this new territory all to themselves, but will have to share it with oriental small clawed otters and great Alexandrine parakeets once the necessary structural adjustments have been made.
An information center on the history of the lion
Attached to the new lions' enclosure at Zürich Zoo is an information center covering an area of 120 m2. The exhibition this houses, a show called "Man and Lion - between Fear and Reverence," looks at how relations between lions and humans have developed through the ages, its themes ranging from man's reverence for lions to the contempt underlying his attempts to wipe them out. Among the highlights of the show are the replicas of various artifacts made by the cave-dwellers of Hohlenstein-Stadel some 30,000 years ago, the original gold ring of an Ashanti king from Ghana and a model of the Gir Forest in India.
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. zuerich.com