Three new lions at Auckland Zoo, five months after male lions euthanised

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Three young female lions have arrived at Auckland Zoo from Australia's Weribee Open Range Zoo.

Auckland Zoo has lions again – welcoming three young lionesses from Australia.

The zoo said twin sisters Aziza and Kibibi and half-sister Ilola arrived on Tuesday and headed straight to quarantine.

The lionesses – all four years old – have come from Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne, Victoria.

Auckland Zoo’s head of animal care and conservation Richard Gibson said the “highly complex” process of getting the lions to the zoo began months ago, involving a range of people, permits and processes.

Lioness Kibibi and her sisters came from Werribee Open Range Zoo in Australia.

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Lioness Aziza and her sisters are in quarantine after arriving at Auckland Zoo.

It was a “huge relief” the transfer had been a success and the lions would soon have free rein of the zoo’s African Safari Track.

Lioness Ilola is half-sisters with the other two.

“While many things are not possible for any of us during these essential Covid lockdowns, there were fortunately no reasons for delaying the long-planned transport of these important big cats,” Gibson said.

“Commercial aircraft and freight companies are still operating. We’ve worked closely with and had the full approvals and support of MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) and the equivalent Australian authorities, and together implemented strict Covid-19 protocols to achieve a very safe, smooth and successful move.”

Carnivore team leader Lauren Booth said the lionesses were settling in well.

“Having three very clever young girls in Aziza, Kibibi and Ilola is both daunting and very exciting for us,” Booth said.

“We know they’ll have a lot to teach us, and we are really looking forward to getting to know each of them and their unique personalities - and once the zoo can safely re-open, sharing them with all our visitors.”

Booth said lions were “incredibly charismatic” and a species with a “majestic presence”.

“I feel they’re often thought of as very common, but the sad reality is that African lions are now only found across eight per cent of their historic range, and their numbers have almost halved over the past 25 years.”

Werribee Open Range Zoo’s acting life science manager Ben Gulli said the three lionesses had helped educate the Australian public about their species – and he had no doubt this would continue at Auckland Zoo.

The arrival of the three lionesses comes five months after the zoo had to euthanise its elderly male lions Zulu and Malik.

The decision was made on welfare grounds.