Here you can see our wonderful family of lions in our award-winning enclosure.
Opened in 2014, our Pride of Pembrokeshire lion reserve has already attracted a lot of attention. It won a silver award for Best Enclosure Design at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) Annual Zoo Awards in 2015. That’s because we took great care designing it, after looking at the best enclosures in zoos around Europe.
You’ll see our lions have a big reserve to wander in, with rocky mounds and a scratching post they love. You can also take a peek inside their house – but there’s a private area too, where they can go if they need some quiet time.
Our large glass viewing areas mean you can get some great photos of our pride. Sometimes they’ll even come and say hello.
Opened in 2014, our Pride of Pembrokeshire enclosure won a silver at the 2015 BIAZA zoo awards for Best Enclosure Design. It’s perfect for our family group of big cats, who can spend between 16-20 hours a day lazing around and sleeping.
Remember, lions are the laziest of the big cat species and do not need to roam to find food and water as they would in the wild. They have all their needs met by our keepers and their territory isn’t threatened so there isn’t any need for them to do anything other than laze around!
Hugo was the head of the family, a very handsome lion with an impressive mane. He sadly passed on 13 May 2025, aged 17, having spent a very happy 11 years at Folly Farm. Hugo was a majestic presence on our zoo and will always be a huge part of the Folly Farm story.
Luna is a strong female – a devoted mother who fiercely protects their four young females, Zahra, Ebele, Alika and Sola.
You never know what you’ll see. Like the now fully grown cubs playing football, or when they high-five visitors through the enclosure’s glass viewing areas. And the sight of Hugo roaring and shaking out his mane is one you’ll never forget.
Our family of lions didn’t grow up in the wild – we would never take them away from their natural home. Hugo was born at Knowsley Safari Park in Merseyside, and Luna was born at Blackpool Zoo. So they’ve never lived in Africa. Their four cubs were born at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, on 14th September 2013.
Shockingly, the number of lions in the wild has dropped by 30% in the last ten years, and much of this decline is due to organised hunting trips. We’ll show you how you can help.
We also have an education centre in the lion house, called the Motobo Hills Lion Research Centre. Here you can learn even more about protecting lions – and the centre’s fun too, as it’s designed to look just like an African lion ranger’s hut. There are blackboards that show how to track a lion. And you’ll see how rangers use a realistic model of the savannah to mark and track the movement of their prides.
Check out our fun facts about lions.
As part of our conservation work, we’re helping the Safina Lion Conservation Fund to raise awareness of, and funds for, lion conservation. Safina works with several conservation organisations working to protect lions in the wild. You can read more about the work we do with our conservation partners.
If lions are your favourite animal we’ve got a grrr-eat gift. You can adopt a lion, what better way to show someone special you love them than by giving them the gift of a “big cat”?
Always wanted to do a big cat experience? We offer a lion feeding experience.