Bristol Zoo lions leave Clifton site
Sahee and Sonika are off to a new home together, in Kent
Bristol Zoo's lions, who always drew large crowds before the Clifton site closed last year (September 3), have left today (March 3) for a new home in Kent.
Sahee and Sonika had lived at the zoo since 2019 but are now being transported to The Big Cat Sanctuary.
The lions are not the only animals to have remained at Bristol Zoo's Clifton site since its closure, with others also staying behind while new homes for them were found.
The gorillas also remain at Bristol Zoo while a new home for them is built at Wild Place Project.
Keepers of course continue to look after them all.
“Asiatic lions are not a species that we currently work with in the wild, so a new home was carefully selected for Sahee and Sonika to ensure the highest levels of care could continue for them both”, said Al Toyne, team lead of mammals at Bristol Zoological Society.
“They will be missed and I’m sure many people who used to visit them at Bristol Zoo Gardens will be keen to visit them at their new home, which will be complete with quiet off-show dens, heated rocks to rest upon and more grassy areas to prow."
In a statement from the Society, it says Sahee (male) and Sonika (female), both seven, have been moved to allow it to prioritise species that most need protecting, improve animal welfare and deliver meaningful conservation work.
At the new Bristol Zoo, (which Wild Place will eventually be renamed as) 80 percent of the species will be linked to the Society’s conservation programmes around the world.
Asiatic lions are from the state of Gujarat in India, where there are thought to be only several hundred left in the wild.
While the population is low, it has remained stable for the last couple of years.