Hi all,
I am compiling a database of Asiatic Lions (see Euro forum), and I could do with a bit of info:
About 10 years ago, a lion named 'Ilenia' left London for Jerusalem - does anyone know about her past?
Thanks in advance,
Harry
Ilenia was born on 26/1/97 at London Zoo to Ruchii (f) and Jake (m). Jake was Chester's breeding male but after the death of Ruchii's first mate Arfur in 1996 it was decided to try and breed her with Jake who had already produced cubs with her sister Chandani at Chester. Jake arrived on 18/9/96 and returned to Chester in December of the same year. The litter was 1:3. One of the female cubs died aged just a few days. However the remaing three thrived. A new male named Kamal was sourced from Helsinki as a new mate for Ruchii although he was kept apart from Ruchii until after the cubs left. On 2nd July 1998 Ilena and her sister (name is un-readable, sorry) left for Jerusalem Zoo in Israel. There brother Sam was moved to the former Rhenen Zoo in Holland in August 1998. Sam died at Rhenen on 29th June 2001. The other female died on 1st October 1999 at Jerusalem. The studbook lists Ilenia as being named Yilee and she was still at Jerusalem at the end of 2006.
again to a male cub - Arthur.
So that is the story I heard from my friend, but I need to confirm this - it is an important issue, despite it seems kind of weird.
I can't help you with this story but it seems quite feasible that one cub could have been born in Gir and the other in captivity. Some of these Lions are semi-tame even in the wild so transferring a mother and her very small cub to a zoo might be more plausible than it first seems.
Incidentally, I believe the name 'Arfur' derived at London Zoo from his having half an ear, so it was 'halfear' (giving the name 'Arfur') and not from the proper name 'Arthur' which it might later have been transcribed as.
Hi all
I am looking also for photos of Arfur - that is the only male lion from the Asiatic population I have not photos of - I need this for a study I am working on.
It shouldn't be too difficult to identify him from any photos you get- by the 'half- ear' which was sufficiently noticeable to name(or rename?) him from. I think 'Arfur' was the cockney derivation...
I suspect the SB holders weren't aware of any of that and thought 'Arfur' was a mispelling- hence it became 'Arthur'.
Photos of Arfur - the London zoo based founder of the Asiatic lion captive population
Hi all
I am looking also for photos of Arfur - that is the only male lion from the Asiatic population I have not photos of - I need this for a study I am working on.
The study is on inheritance of some external characters of lions and is performed by studying those characters along the generations on pedigrees constructed with photos of the males. So Arfur is the only gap I have in the pedigree I constructed for the Asiatic lineages in Europe. Will be great to be able to fill that up
Thank you in advance
V![]()