San Diego Zoo Safari Park Welcome New Lion

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park have a new mane man with Bo, a 7 year old African lion arriving in California from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. He joins three resident females, Malika, Zuri and Amira in the zoo's Lion Camp habitat.

Since his arrival Bo has been curiously exploring his habitat and showing increasing confidence as he becomes more comfortable in his enclosure. At present he is rotating use of the enclosure with the four females until they become comfortable with one another and can be displayed together.

The moving of Bo from Colorado to California comes through a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP). This program helps to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse assurance population of this species.  

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species lists the African lion as a Vulnerable species. Their population is less than 40,000 in the wild. Their decline is being driven by habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance support the conservation of African lions in Kenya. This is driven by support of community organizations, Ewaso Lions and Northern Rangelands Trust, recognizing that the conservation of lions has to be reconciled with the needs of humans.

The lions housed at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo provide San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservation scientists with information on the needs of lions which can help conservation work on the ground in Africa.