In all honesty this enclosure is an absolute disgrace for the so-called "king of the jungle", and it would be better off showcasing a much smaller species.
When I visited the Los Angeles Zoo I was shocked to see big cats in such a tiny exhibit, which is even smaller than what is depicted in the photograph. Maybe for hundreds of Eastern European zoos or Asian zoos this is a glorious enclosure, but in North America it is a disgrace.
Agree with Mario. Lions who are that old are probably barely going to move around anyway, and it would be useless to spend millions on a brand-new lion exhibit when the two lions will probably pass on in a few years. I wouldn't go to the extreme of calling this an absolute disgrace but it is pretty bad. Fort Worth still has the worst though.
When I first visited the zoo after its 1966 opening, the original Lions here were cubs and it suited them nicely. Of course those cubs grew up and admittedly this exhibit is outdated. And believe it or not, for years housed 3, one male and 2 lionesses. Even the rare Asian Lion for several years.
In recent years past, the zoo made announcement that it had plans to raise funds for a new exhibit and would title it, "The Pride of Los Angeles." They were in need of private donors to make these plans a reality. Back in the '90s when the Master Plan was revealed, it included a new African Plains that would be located in the current North America section. North American animals would be featured in various locales at the front of the zoo. Of course this would create the problem of relocating the many none North American species located there, i.e., Speke's Gazelle, Lowland Anoa, Babirusa, Bactrian Camel and so on.
I've always thought that the temporary solution for the Lion exhibit would be to fill in the moat, extend the exhibit all the way out, and use a glass fronted barrier; something like the Santa Barbara Zoo.
I've always thought that the temporary solution for the Lion exhibit would be to fill in the moat, extend the exhibit all the way out, and use a glass fronted barrier; something like the Santa Barbara Zoo.
I also thought of this a while back. Filling in the moat would double the size of the exhibit. The only thing bad about glass would be that people will try to scratch the glass like the orang exhibit.
In recent years past, the zoo made announcement that it had plans to raise funds for a new exhibit and would title it, "The Pride of Los Angeles." They were in need of private donors to make these plans a reality. Back in the '90s when the Master Plan was revealed, it included a new African Plains that would be located in the current North America section. North American animals would be featured in various locales at the front of the zoo. Of course this would create the problem of relocating the many none North American species located there, i.e., Speke's Gazelle, Lowland Anoa, Babirusa, Bactrian Camel and so on.
