Well when I first met Simba I was told he came from a circus, no name was given but I guess it was one of the usual suspects, he was very laid back liked human contact, and was just a nice lion to work with, he liked human contact I'm not suggesting you could have gone in with him but he readily came over to see the keepers.
He was paired with a lioness called Rachel who was from either Woburn or Longleat I think (might be wrong but definatley one of the safari parks) and they were together as a display couple rather then a breeding pair.
In 1998 he started to show signs of ill health and it became apparent he was suffering from F.S.E so the decision was taken to euthanise him.
This left Rachel on her own, as she was an elderly lioness (18 i think) and results from her annual health checks indicated she was begining to show signs of liver failure she was alo euthanised to allow the the lion enclosure to remain fallow for 6 months during the closed season before chessington acquired Ashok Kamlesh and Gita who were being temporarily held at London,
Thanks for that easytigger,
He seemed like a great lion to work with - Great to see he had a good life, Its always interesting to know about past lions at collections.
I see the enclosure is very similair but its just been redeveloped with glass windows and more sturdy fencing for the Asiatics.
Have you got any more information about other Cats you have worked with? - Will be fantastic to know anything.
