UK’s largest habitat for world’s rarest lions opens at Chester Zoo

Pride of endangered Asiatic lions explores new home for first time

Lionesses, Kumari & Kiburi, and male, Iblis, take first steps into state-of-the-art conservation facility

Conservationists celebrate completion of important breeding habitat for world’s rarest lion species

Major 5,000 square metre zone recreates India’s Gir Forest region – where the last surviving wild Asiatic lions live

Species survives in just 0.1% of its former range in the wild

A pride of Asiatic lions – the world’s rarest lion species – have taken their first steps into a specially-created new home at Chester Zoo.

The zoo’s new conservation area is the UK’s largest habitat for Asiatic lions.

The habitat is designed to recreate the environment of the Gir Forest region of India, where the last few hundred Asiatic lions live in the wild.

The zoo hopes a new visitor zone will raise awareness of the threats faced by Asiatic lions in the wild, including human-wildlife conflict, and the conservation action needed to protect the species.

Lionesses Kumari and Kiburi - along with adult male Iblis (all 12 years old) - have been exploring their sprawling new home, before the space opens to visitors for the first time on Friday (18 October).

Dave Hall, Team Manager of Carnivores at Chester Zoo, said:

“Asiatic lions are impressively built animals, with compact bodies, powerful legs and strong jaws and teeth, making them superb hunters.

“Their retractable claws, which they use for gripping tightly on to prey, can be up to 38mm long and they have rough tongues, like sandpaper, for scraping meat from bones.

“They are truly majestic animals. This brand new habitat at the zoo – the largest in the UK – really is a fitting new home for them.”

The area – which has been specially created by the zoo’s carnivore experts – spans 4,780 square metres in total.

Recreating the scrubland savannahs of India’s Gir Forest region, the dry forest habitat contains raised hilltop viewing points for the pride, as well as heated rocks and a water hole.

The habitat is also complete with heated indoor dens, which zoo experts hope will one day be the perfect environment for cubs. The state-of-the-art facility could be a major boost to the European breeding programme for the species, which is teetering on the brink of extinction in the wild.

As few as 650 lions are thought to remain in the wild. Poaching, human-wildlife conflict, habitat loss and disease have caused a catastrophic decline in Asiatic lion populations in their natural range.

The last Asiatic lions populations survive in Gujarat, India, in the Gir Forest region, but this is just 0.1% of their former territories. The species once roamed across Northern Africa, Greece, Turkey and Asia but are now confined to one small region of India, where natural disaster or an outbreak of disease could wipe out the entire species.

Local community action, supported by international conservationists, has helped to slowly increase numbers in recent years, but the species remains ‘endangered’ on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘Red List’ of threatened species – meaning it is still faced with a high chance of extinction.

Dr Mark Pilgrim, Chester Zoo’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“This remarkable species is facing a very uncertain future. The European endangered species breeding programme is critically important. If the worst was to happen in the wild, good zoos would be the only thing standing between Asiatic lions and extinction.

“We’re very proud to be able to give the Asiatic lion pride the world’s best conservation breeding facilities. We also hope the new area will help us raise much needed awareness about the plight of Asiatic lions.

“Lions were among the first carnivores cared for here by Chester Zoo’s founder George Mottershead. He was a pioneering animal welfare advocate, who realised his vision for the first ‘zoo without bars’. Our ongoing habitat creation programme continues to deliver George’s ‘always building’ philosophy, which has pushed the boundaries of world-class animal welfare and conservation in zoos.”

The new habitat – which has been created using environmentally considerate construction techniques – has been created using the latest sustainable construction standards. Climate controlled dens, heated by sustainable “green” energy and supported by fully insulated walls and roof, will minimise power consumption in order to create year-round optimum conditions for the big cats.

Asiatic lion facts:

The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of the lion which today survives only in India

Asiatic lions stand at between 1 and 1.2 metres tall

They are the most sociable of the big cats, led by a dominant male who is the only male in the pride who can mate

Their long tails with black tufts at the tip help them to balance, communicate their mood and lead other lions through long grass. The tuft hides a sharp spike at the end of the tall, which is their spine, although nobody knows what it’s for

Only the males have manes, which are to attract females and intimidate other males

Their frontal cortex (part of the brain) is larger than any other cat’s. This part of the brain is used for social behaviour (lions are the only true social cat) as well as decision making and problem solving. Both are key skills for a successful hunt

They communicate in varied ways like grooming each other and rubbing heads

Lions defend their territory by roaring and scent marking. Scents also help a male to discover if a female is in season

Asiatic lions spend between 16 and 20 hours each day resting. They have few sweat glands so they wisely tend to conserve their energy

Asiatic lion conservation facts:

Asiatic lions once ranged from the Mediterranean to India, covering most of Southwest Asia

It is feared that as few as 350 Asiatic lions remain in the wild, in one restricted area, the Gir Forest in the state of Gujarat, India

The species is listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species

Asiatic lions are threatened by poaching, habitat fragmentation and disease from other species.

Conservationists fear that one natural disaster could wipe out the remaining population

Critically endangered:

Africa’s rarest large mammal born at Chester Zoo

Birth of rare eastern bongo hailed as “incredibly important” by conservationists

Calf is the first eastern bongo antelope to be born at Chester Zoo for 11 years

Also known as the mountain bongo, it is feared that as few as 70 remain in the wild

The eastern bongo population has been decimated by humans hunting them for their meat, horns and hides and destroying their habitat

Zoo supports research in Kenya which is striving to prevent the extinction of the striking animals

Last year, conservationists from Chester Zoo discovered lowland bongo, a subspecies related to the eastern bongo, in Uganda for the first time

Conservationists at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of a bongo – the rarest large mammal in Africa.

First-time mum, Safi, gave birth to the critically endangered eastern bongo calf on Wednesday 4 September after a nine-month-long gestation.

It is the first eastern bongo – the world’s largest forest-dwelling antelope - to be born at the zoo for more than 11 years.

Zoo experts have hailed the female calf’s arrival as “incredibly important”, with latest estimates suggesting as few as 70 may now remain in its native East Africa.

The animal, which is now found in just one remote area of Kenya, is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and faces an extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.

Its population has been decimated by humans hunting for its meat and horns, combined with habitat loss caused by agriculture and uncontrolled timber felling.

Chester Zoo is part of an endangered species breeding programme, which is working to boost eastern bongo numbers in zoos around the world and secure a safety net population.

The zoo, in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, is also supporting vital research on the subspecies in Kenya - investigating the impact that habitat change has on the tiny bongo population that remains. The team is also working with researchers on a potential reintroduction strategy for the highly endangered animals.

Dr Nick Davis, Chester Zoo’s Deputy Curator of Mammals, manages the European breeding programme for the subspecies. He said:

“The eastern bongo is an extremely striking animal. It’s frightening to think that the population size of this magnificent, large mammal is so, so small. We fear that their wild number could be as low as 70 mature individuals.

“We’re working hard to prevent their extinction and the new calf at the zoo is an incredibly important arrival. She’s a significant boost to the international breeding programme for these highly threatened animals.”

The eastern bongo is recognised for its vibrant reddish-brown coat which features thin white vertical stripes. The stripes break up its body shape, helping it to stay camouflaged in the forests where it is found.

Sarah Roffe, Team Manager at the zoo, added:

“Eastern bongo are notoriously shy and elusive animals and new-borns will naturally look to take cover to protect themselves. We have though been able to determine that Safi’s calf is a beautiful girl. She’s ever so well so far, and is starting to explore her habitat here more and more.

“Calves have these incredible large ears which help them to hear approaching predators. At the moment, the new calf’s ears are so big that they almost look out of proportion with her body – but she will grow into them!”

In 2018, scientists from Chester Zoo discovered another subspecies of bongo, the lowland bongo, in Uganda for the first time. The zoo’s motion-sensor camera traps detected the presence of the animals in the lowland rainforests of the Semuliki National Park.

Eastern bongo facts

Scientific name: Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci

The eastern bongo is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) meaning they face an extremely high risk of becoming extinction in the wild

They are threatened by habitat loss to agriculture and hunting for their meat, horns and hides

Standing around 1.1 to 1.4m tall at the shoulder, adult male bongo can weigh over 300kgs

Their thin vertical stripes help them to camouflage by breaking up their body shape

They have a long flexible tongue, which helps them to reach food, and strong long horns help them to find food by uprooting plants. Their horns are also used by males for sparing over females

They walk with their heads tilted back when moving through forests so they don’t get stuck in branches

Eastern bongo boast large sensitive ears help them to sense and escape from ambush predators such as leopards and hyenas

Welcoming 1.9 million visitors a year, it is the most visited zoo in the UK; home to over 27,000 animals and more than 500 different species, many of which are endangered in the wild.Through its wildlife conservation campaign, Act for Wildlife, the zoo is helping to save highly threatened species around the world from extinction.

Welcoming 1.9 million visitors a year, it is the most visited zoo in the UK; home to over 27,000 animals and more than 500 different species, many of which are endangered in the wild.

Chester Zoo is a registered conservation and education charity that supports projects around the world and closer to home in Cheshire.