Three lions arrive at Brevard Zoo from Naples, explore new home before exhibit opens
Long-awaited lions have finally arrived at Brevard Zoo, 28 years after the popular nonprofit wildlife facility opened in Viera.
And the maned trio of African lion brothers — Chobe, Karoo and Ruaha — should be visible to zoo guests starting Sunday morning at their temporary exhibit in the Wild Florida loop, Executive Director Keith Winsten said.
“We decided to add lions because they've become a high conservation priority. And over the last 20 years, the number of lions in Africa has dropped by 50%,” Winsten said.
“Within the populations under our care, they need attention. So the request was to get more institutions caring for lions. So we answered that call," he said.
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Brevard Zoo's new lion siblings were born in May 2019 at Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens. Each is named for a national park in Africa.
Tuesday night, Brevard Zoo dispatched a personnel team to Naples. They gave Chobe, Karoo and Ruaha "pre-ship" medical checkups and physical assessments Wednesday morning, including COVID-19 vaccinations.
The lions were sedated, loaded into large locking metal crates, and trucked to Viera by Wednesday afternoon. There, crew members used a forklift to unload the crates.
“By about 5:30, all three lions were safely in our new exhibit. They're going to stay in the holding area for the next few days — and that becomes their safe zone. They get used to eating back there. They’ll feel safe and secure," Winsten said.
"And then on Sunday, we'll let them out onto the exhibit," he said.
If all goes well, the lions should be roaming their new exhibit by the time the zoo opens Sunday at 9 a.m. for members and 9:30 a.m. for nonmembers, Winsten said.
"They're brothers. They get along great. And so, now we're just letting them settle in over the next few days so the keepers can get to know them. And they get to know the keepers," he said.
Brevard Zoo is joining the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ lion species survival breeding program.
The lions' temporary home in the Wild Florida loop is located between Eko the bobcat's exhibit and the Florida black bear habitat. Winsten said construction bids will soon be sought to build a permanent lion exhibit in the Expedition Africa loop.
The lions will take over the space occupied by Pepper the geriatric cheetah. Pepper will move into the former home of Mulac, the zoo's 20-year-old jaguar who died in January after battling chronic kidney disease and arthritis.
Winsten said crews will eventually convert the Wild Florida temporary lion exhibit into a bear expansion area.
Brevard Zoo officials started planning details of the Expedition Africa loop in earnest in 2002. That's when a team of roughly 20 zoo officials and volunteers took a two-week tour of Zimbabwe and Botswana to study habitats.
The 10-acre Expedition Africa zone opened on the Fourth of July in 2003, featuring giraffes and white rhinos. However, zoo officials said they would wait years in the future before consider adding great cats.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Lions from Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens arrive at Brevard Zoo
