Hugo, Luna and their four cubs are settling well into their new home.
The pride of African lions is headed up by one adult male lion Hugo, his mate Luna and their four cubs, Sola, Zahra, Alika, and Ebele, who our new lion keepers had the privilege of naming.
Two of our four cubs, settling in well the day after they arrived
Hugo is six years old and was born in Knowsley Safari Park in Merseyside before meeting his mate Luna at Longleat Safari Park. Five year old Luna was born in Blackpool Zoo she gave birth to four cubs nine months ago while at Longleat.
Hugo and his gang set off from Longleat Safari Park on Tuesday morning and arrived with us around lunchtime and are now settling well into their new Welsh home.
Luna and her cubs
Two members of the Longleat team stayed to help with our lions settle in and to provide a full handover to the new keepers.
Tim Morphew, our zoo curator, said;
The arrival of the pride marks the completion of a £500,000 project to build a purpose-built, state-of-the-art two-acre enclosure for the lions at Folly Farm.
It also highlights the valuable work the attraction already does with UK charity Wildlife Vets International as part of its commitment to conservation, raising awareness and funds for in-situ big cat conservation projects.
Rosie Badger our newly appointed lion keeper, added:
The new two acre lion enclosure is made up of four dens/bedrooms and visitors will be able to see the lions clearly in the house through large glass viewing windows.
Aerial view of the new lion enclosure at Folly Farm
Visitors will be able to enjoy clear and unrestricted views of the lions from three vantage points surrounding the outside enclosure.
Alongside the lion house is an education centre, themed as a fully-equipped ranger’s hut, which will provide visitors with information on African lions and the work carried out by rangers in the wild to monitor and protect them.
There will also be real life footage of an African Savannah and audio to help place young animal lovers in the natural habitat of the lions and deliver conservation messages about the threats facing lions in the wild.