Monarto Safari Park’s Lion Cubs Receive Their Names

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: June 27, 2020 10:26 am

Photo Credit: Monarto Safari Park

The four African lion cubs at Monarto Safari Park in Australia have received their names after a highly successful public naming competition that saw over 1,000 entries.

Born on the evening of February 16 and the morning of February 17 to 6 year old mother, Hasani the cubs, one male and three females, bring the pride housed at Monarto Safari Park to 10.

The females have been named Chikondi meaning love, Adira meaning majestic and Zahara meaning flower while the male received the name Kahari which means ‘King like.’

Photo Credit: Monarto Safari Park

Names for the females were voted on by the public who were asked to choose from a list of 6 names. The males name was open for suggestions with the winning name Kahari being suggested multiple times.

Due to their close relationship with the lions, keepers took the 3 most popular female names and assigned them to the cub which would suit the name best.

Photo Credit: Monarto Safari Park

Carnviore keeper at Monarto Safari Park, Rachel Hemming explained the choices for each cub, “Zahara, for example, has flower-shaped markings on her fur. Adira is the larger female and more confident so ‘majestic’ fits her well.”

“And Chikondi, well, she had a sore leg for a while and had to have regular medicine and got that extra bit of TLC so a name meaning ‘love’ seems very fitting,” finished Rachel.

The four lion cubs have been growing well and were recently given access to the main lion habitat at Monarto Safari Park to explore with their family. At 11.5 hectares there are plenty of spots for the little lions to discover.

Photo Credit: Monarto Safari Park

The exhibit also features a unique experience called Lions 360 which allows guests to enter the enclosure with just a steel dome between them and the lions for an up close view.

Monarto Safari Park will re-open to the public on Monday following a 3 month closure and the lion cubs will be available for viewing.

Learn more about African lions here – African Lion | The Animal Facts

Learn more about Monarto Safari Park – Monarto Safari Park