Australasian African Lion Population

Orana Wildlife Park Lion History

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Early History:

Orana Wildlife Park (New Zealand’s only open range zoo) opened in 1976 with 18 lions (including six cubs).

The drive through lion exhibit was a huge attraction for the zoo and the lions had an extremely spacious exhibit. This photo was taken in 1985:

Many litters were bred during the drive through days, including:

1.0 Jomo (20/08/1983) - Deceased
1.0 Tarma (20/08/1983) - Deceased
1.0 Cemba (20/08/1983) - Deceased

1.0 Tenbo (01/08/1986) - Fate Unknown
0.1 Mishka (01/08/1986) - Fate Unknown

0.1 Tombi (17/09/1987) - Deceased
0.1 Tess (17/09/1987) - Deceased
0.1 Kushka (17/09/1987) - Deceased
0.1 Mara (17/09/1987) - Sent to Wellington Zoo 1992

Note the timing of the births (August/September). The cubs would have been three to four months old at the start of the New Zealand summer holidays (December/January). It also avoided the cubs being born during the coldest months of the year (June/July).

By 2000, the park had the 3.0 born 1983 and the 0.3 born 1987 from the drive through era - of which Tarma, Cemba and Tess were the last survivors. They had all passed away by the mid 2000’s.

——————————————————

Recent History:

A new pride was formed with the arrival of 1.2 lions:

1.0 Toby (1998) from Paradise Valley Springs - Deceased
0.1 Kiara (1998) from Bullens in Victoria - Deceased
0.1 Priscilla (1998) from Mogo Zoo - Deceased

Priscilla was a half sibling of Sheeka at Auckland Zoo. From memory, they shared a mother, but will have to look into this.

Three litters were born to these lions:

1.0 Ra (24/09/2002) Toby x Priscilla - Deceased
0.1 Thandi (24/09/2002) Toby x Priscilla - Deceased

1.0 Kahn (31/12/2002) Toby x Kiara - Deceased
1.0 Sakura (31/12/2002) Toby x Kiara - Deceased
0.1 Mishka (31/12/2002) Toby x Kiara - Deceased

0.1 Leah (13/01/2004) Toby x Kiara
0.1 Meeka (13/01/2004) Toby x Kiara

The lions were eventually managed as seperate prides after Toby fatally injured Thandi upon Priscilla’s reintroduction to the pride in 2003. Toby died in a choking incident in 2006.

In December 2008, two males were loaned from Wellington Zoo:

1.0 Zulu (04/03/2004) Lazarus x Amira - returned 2010
1.0 Malik (18/04/2004) Lazarus x Kura - returned 2010

Malik sired two litters to Kiara and Mishka born 2009:

0.1 Tua (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka
0.1 Tama (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka

1.0 Toa (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara - Deceased
1.0 Kairangi (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara
1.0 Tawhiri (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara

After Zulu failed to breed with Leah, Malik was introduced to Meeka and sired a litter of cubs born 2011:

1.0 Mambila (04/01/2011) Malik x Mishka
1.0 Masai (04/01/2011) Malik x Mishka - Deceased

——————————————————

Current Population:

Orana’s population therefore consists of 3.4 lions held across two prides:

0.1 Leah (13/01/2004) Toby x Priscilla
0.1 Meeka (13/01/2004) Toby x Priscilla
1.0 Mambila (04/01/2011) Malik x Mishka

0.1 Tua (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka
0.1 Tama (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka
1.0 Kairangi (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara
1.0 Tawhiri (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara

The zoo have stated it’s there intention to let these ageing prides die out before receiving further lions, given their lionesses are now post reproductive.

——————————————————

Additional notes:

I thought people would be interested to see this photo from 1985 of Orana’s drive through lion exhibit that highlights what a spacious exhibit it was for a zoo (albeit typical for a dedicated lion drive through park): New watering hole at Orana Park

Orana Wildlife Park undertook population control by castrating and vasectomising their male lions. Some were vasectomised (rather than castrated) due to the visual appeal of males lions. Castration reduced aggression (another reason for its use); but caused the males to lose their manes.

There’s a photo of one of the castrated males here (Ra), alongside his mother and sisters in 2006. Ra is on the left and looks like a large lioness: File:Orana Wildlife Park feeding lions.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
 
Zoofan15 said:
Orana Wildlife Park Lion History

——————————————————

Early History:

Orana Wildlife Park (New Zealand’s only open range zoo) opened in 1976 with 18 lions (including six cubs).

The drive through lion exhibit was a huge attraction for the zoo and the lions had an extremely spacious exhibit. This photo was taken in 1985:

Many litters were bred during the drive through days, including:

1.0 Jomo (20/08/1983) - Deceased
1.0 Tarma (20/08/1983) - Deceased
1.0 Cemba (20/08/1983) - Deceased

1.0 Tenbo (01/08/1986) - Fate Unknown
0.1 Mishka (01/08/1986) - Fate Unknown

0.1 Tombi (17/09/1987) - Deceased
0.1 Tess (17/09/1987) - Deceased
0.1 Kushka (17/09/1987) - Deceased
0.1 Mara (17/09/1987) - Sent to Wellington Zoo 1992

Note the timing of the births (August/September). The cubs would have been three to four months old at the start of the New Zealand summer holidays (December/January). It also avoided the cubs being born during the coldest months of the year (June/July).

By 2000, the park had the 3.0 born 1983 and the 0.3 born 1987 from the drive through era - of which Tarma, Cemba and Tess were the last survivors. They had all passed away by the mid 2000’s.

——————————————————

Recent History:

A new pride was formed with the arrival of 1.2 lions:

1.0 Toby (1998) from Paradise Valley Springs - Deceased
0.1 Kiara (1998) from Bullens in Victoria - Deceased
0.1 Priscilla (1998) from Mogo Zoo - Deceased

Priscilla was a half sibling of Sheeka at Auckland Zoo. From memory, they shared a mother, but will have to look into this.

Three litters were born to these lions:

1.0 Ra (24/09/2002) Toby x Priscilla - Deceased
0.1 Thandi (24/09/2002) Toby x Priscilla - Deceased

1.0 Kahn (31/12/2002) Toby x Kiara - Deceased
1.0 Sakura (31/12/2002) Toby x Kiara - Deceased
0.1 Mishka (31/12/2002) Toby x Kiara - Deceased

0.1 Leah (13/01/2004) Toby x Kiara
0.1 Meeka (13/01/2004) Toby x Kiara

The lions were eventually managed as seperate prides after Toby fatally injured Thandi upon Priscilla’s reintroduction to the pride in 2003. Toby died in a choking incident in 2006.

In December 2008, two males were loaned from Wellington Zoo:

1.0 Zulu (04/03/2004) Lazarus x Amira - returned 2010
1.0 Malik (18/04/2004) Lazarus x Kura - returned 2010

Malik sired two litters to Kiara and Mishka born 2009:

0.1 Tua (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka
0.1 Tama (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka

1.0 Toa (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara - Deceased
1.0 Kairangi (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara
1.0 Tawhiri (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara

After Zulu failed to breed with Leah, Malik was introduced to Meeka and sired a litter of cubs born 2011:

1.0 Mambila (04/01/2011) Malik x Mishka
1.0 Masai (04/01/2011) Malik x Mishka - Deceased

——————————————————

Current Population:

Orana’s population therefore consists of 3.4 lions held across two prides:

0.1 Leah (13/01/2004) Toby x Priscilla
0.1 Meeka (13/01/2004) Toby x Priscilla
1.0 Mambila (04/01/2011) Malik x Mishka

0.1 Tua (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka
0.1 Tama (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka
1.0 Kairangi (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara
1.0 Tawhiri (05/07/2009) Malik x Kiara

The zoo have stated it’s there intention to let these ageing prides die out before receiving further lions, given their lionesses are now post reproductive.

——————————————————

Additional notes:

I thought people would be interested to see this photo from 1985 of Orana’s drive through lion exhibit that highlights what a spacious exhibit it was for a zoo (albeit typical for a dedicated lion drive through park): New watering hole at Orana Park

Orana Wildlife Park undertook population control by castrating and vasectomising their male lions. Some were vasectomised (rather than castrated) due to the visual appeal of males lions. Castration reduced aggression (another reason for its use); but caused the males to lose their manes.

There’s a photo of one of the castrated males here (Ra), alongside his mother and sisters in 2006. Ra is on the left and looks like a large lioness: File:Orana Wildlife Park feeding lions.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Click to expand...

@Zoofan15 Thank you for your research :)
 
Zorro said:
@Zoofan15 Thank you for your research :)
Click to expand...

No problem. I always enjoy researching the animal histories of our region’s zoos. Lions are especially interesting given how dynamic the population was over the second half of the 20th century.

An interesting trend is how the main zoos all bred frequently up until the 1980’s. Contraception for female felids was introduced in this decade and coordinated breeding programmes soon became a focus for ZAA zoos.

An increasing number of city zoos are now holding same sex non breeding prides. Given a typical lifespan is around 15-20 years, the holdings of these zoos will become comparatively static compared to what they once were.
 
Population Update

Deaths:

Tua at Orana Wildlife Park has died. Her death takes the zoo’s population to 3.3 lions held in two prides:

0.1 Tua (16/06/2009) Malik x Mishka

Future Breeding:

Makena at Monarto Zoo is off contraception in the hope she’ll fall pregnant. She and her brother (also in a new breeding pair at the National Zoo) are the only reproductive aged descendants of Melbourne’s old pride:

0.1 Makena (18/06/2013) Leroy x Kiamba

Thanks to @Swanson02 for the information on Makena.
 
marmolady said:
At Werribee Open Range Zoo today, I was told by a volunteer that the plan is for Nilo to have a litter, and Asali afterwards.
Click to expand...

Werribee sure love their staggered litters (the last three litters were born 12 months apart).

Unless the plan is for the litters to be born two or three years apart, I’d have preferred to see them mirror the natural social order of this species by seeing Nilo and Asali give birth at the same time. This would have provided the cubs with an abundance of social interaction with another litter to interact with beyond their own.

I suppose the priority here is to get Nilo breeding given her age (10 years). As a founder, she’s a genetically valuable female and they don’t want to miss their chance.
 
marmolady said:
At Werribee Open Range Zoo today, I was told by a volunteer that the plan is for Nilo to have a litter, and Asali afterwards.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the plan.

Zoofan15 said:
Werribee sure love their staggered litters (the last three litters were born 12 months apart).

Unless the plan is for the litters to be born two or three years apart, I’d have preferred to see them mirror the natural social order of this species by seeing Nilo and Asali give birth at the same time. This would have provided the cubs with an abundance of social interaction with another litter to interact with beyond their own.

I suppose the priority here is to get Nilo breeding given her age (10 years). As a founder, she’s a genetically valuable female and they don’t want to miss their chance.
Click to expand...

Werribee don't have the space to have two litters of cubs at once, which is I think why they do this. It would also be much harder to place say eight cubs to other zoos at the same time. For Werribee's convenience though now, they have the back enclosure currently sitting empty, which could be used to hold a bachelor group possibly.

Unfortunately on my last visit I was told Sheru was rather shy, and has rarely been mating with both girls. He's a completely different character to what Johari was. It'll take him time to settle in and be comfortable, and then maybe we might have cubs.
 
Jambo said:
Werribee don't have the space to have two litters of cubs at once, which is I think why they do this. It would also be much harder to place say eight cubs to other zoos at the same time. For Werribee's convenience though now, they have the back enclosure currently sitting empty, which could be used to hold a bachelor group possibly.

Unfortunately on my last visit I was told Sheru was rather shy, and has rarely been mating with both girls. He's a completely different character to what Johari was. It'll take him time to settle in and be comfortable, and then maybe we might have cubs.
Click to expand...

I’d imagine one or two female cubs would be retained within the pride from Nilo’s prospective litter.

Perth Zoo are the obvious destination for a male cub. If there were two males in the litter, I’d imagine they’d take both for the sake of population management; while if there were three, they might as well take one (their preference) as a second destination will be needed either way. A number of small zoos (Hunter Valley, Altina, Mansfield etc.) have ageing lions that may have passed on by the time these cubs are mature.

It’s a shame Sheru isn’t proving to be a confident head of the pride. I’d have assumed they would have chosen the male from his litter of four that showed the most promise in leading a a pride - assertive, but not aggressive. Johari exercised his rule to perfection.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’d imagine one or two female cubs would be retained within the pride from Nilo’s prospective litter.

Perth Zoo are the obvious destination for a male cub. If there were two males in the litter, I’d imagine they’d take both for the sake of population management; while if there were three, they might as well take one (their preference) as a second destination will be needed either way. A number of small zoos (Hunter Valley, Altina, Mansfield etc.) have ageing lions that may have passed on by the time these cubs are mature.

It’s a shame Sheru isn’t proving to be a confident head of the pride. I’d have assumed they would have chosen the male from his litter of four that showed the most promise in leading a a pride - assertive, but not aggressive. Johari exercised his rule to perfection.
Click to expand...

I'd imagine this will be Nilo's last litter. She's ten, and future breeding will probably be focused on Asali, with the females from Nilo's litter being retained (if there are any). Of course, if they're all males, I think we'll see Nilo bred from again. It all depends.

I'm surprised Perth haven't acquired a male yet. Werribee have space to hold a bachelor pride as well, but may want to save this for sons of Asali. If Nilo has sons, they'll most likely be used for breeding; Perth presents an option, and possibly even Adelaide too once their lions die.

Of course, you never know. Sheru may have been quite the leader amongst his brothers, but has now shied away in a new habitat with new girls. Hopefully he'll get through this stage and get to the most important part; breeding!
 
Zoofan15 said:
The parents must be Baako and Chitwa at Mogo Zoo. The photo shows a tawny lioness with a cub and Hunter Valley’s tawny lionesses are elderly.

In other lion news, the young pair at Mogo (Phoenix and Maji) have been successfully integrated. Maji was handraised after the death of her mother and sibling: 'Roar' feelings: Watch these lions find love at the zoo

1.0 Baako (28/02/2015) Lazarus x Maya
0.1 Chitwa (10/08/2014) Mac x Snow

1.0 Phoenix (23/12/2019) Baako x Chitwa
0.1 Maji (11/12/2020) Baako x Zuri
Click to expand...

1.0 Roc at Mogo has been introduced to his father (Baako). Apparently Snow's been introduced to the group too; you can see her in the video following Roc around.

Video - Chad's socials.
 
Jambo said:
1.0 Roc at Mogo has been introduced to his father (Baako). Apparently Snow's been introduced to the group too; you can see her in the video following Roc around.

Video - Chad's socials.
Click to expand...

It’s nice the four lions have finally formed a cohesive pride. Mogo have really struggled to create a decent sized pride given the challenges they’ve faced - single cub litters, the death of a lioness and her offspring etc.

Phoneix and Maji are kept in a pair seperate from the pride. It’s a shame to remove Phoenix from his mother, but it’ll allow Maji to gain essential social skills.
 
Naming Competition (Dubbo)

Taronga Western Plains Zoo have launched a naming competition for one of their cubs. You can vote from the following options via their website:

Amali - Hope
Mara - Spotted land
Akani - to build
Akia - to build
Alika - most beautiful
Ameena - trustworthy

I’m guessing Alika will be the crowd favourite, but my personal favourite is Mara. It’s a popular lion name worldwide and has a nice ring to it.

All three cubs are now on display, with the other two cubs being named by the zoo’s lion keepers and Taronga Foundation supporters.

They clearly think an A name will go well with whatever’s been chosen given they’ve loaded the completion with 5/6 A names. There’s an abundance of African names beginning with A; but C, M and Z are equally as popular.
 
Hello there, I was wondering if anyone knew what happened to Sydney Zoos fourth lion? I was certain that there were 4 brothers, all male, however, I visited the zoo today and only three were there. I checked the signage to confirm that there was supposed to be 4, however the sign only said they were a group of 3.

And now I see a few pages back that someone confirmed that there were, in fact, 4. I've not been able to find any information about what happened to the fourth.

Any ideas?
 
MrLiam said:
Hello there, I was wondering if anyone knew what happened to Sydney Zoos fourth lion? I was certain that there were 4 brothers, all male, however, I visited the zoo today and only three were there. I checked the signage to confirm that there was supposed to be 4, however the sign only said they were a group of 3.

And now I see a few pages back that someone confirmed that there were, in fact, 4. I've not been able to find any information about what happened to the fourth.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Sheru was sent to Werribee earlier this year. He's been moved there to breed.
 
MrLiam said:
Hello there, I was wondering if anyone knew what happened to Sydney Zoos fourth lion? I was certain that there were 4 brothers, all male, however, I visited the zoo today and only three were there. I checked the signage to confirm that there was supposed to be 4, however the sign only said they were a group of 3.

And now I see a few pages back that someone confirmed that there were, in fact, 4. I've not been able to find any information about what happened to the fourth.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Welcome mate, hope you had a good visit :)
 
MrLiam said:
Ah thank you! That's great to hear. Out of interest, any idea how they decide which to send?
Click to expand...

Primarily decisions are made on which lions are the best genetic match. There’s a online database which ranks the lions by genetic diversity and recommends the best genetic matches.

In the case of the four brothers, they were equal in terms of genetics so a decision on which one to send would have been made based on which staff felt would be most suited personality wise. The desirable traits would be assertive (to rule the two lionesses), but not aggressive.
 
African Lion Updates

Mogo Wildlife Park:

The zoo have successfully integrated Chitwa and her male cub with his father (Baako) and maternal grandmother (Snow).

Taronga Western Plains Zoo:

Following the debut of the three female lion cubs, along with their parents, Lwazi and Marion; their aunt, Evelyn has been successfully introduced to the cubs.

Interestingly, photos of Evelyn on social media show her with prominent teats and a distended stomach, indicating she’s heavily pregnant. Good spotting by @Nisha! I suspected Evelyn would be welcoming cubs soon given the zoo has the room to breed from both lionesses and doing so would mirror the natural social order.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Interestingly, photos of Evelyn on social media show her with prominent teats and a distended stomach, indicating she’s heavily pregnant. Good spotting by @Nisha! I suspected Evelyn would be welcoming cubs soon given the zoo has the room to breed from both lionesses and doing so would mirror the natural social order.
Click to expand...

Update on Evelyn (Dubbo):

Following her visit, @akasha has reported Evelyn has been taken off display. I’m hopeful this is an indication of an impending birth as mentioned above. It would be great for the pride to have two litters close together, with Marion’s triplets now four months old.
 
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