Observed on August 10 since 2013, World Lion aims to raise awareness of the plight of these majestic and invaluable predators. Lions are now restricted to under 5 percent of their historical range with a 90 percent drop in numbers over the past century due to massive reduction in the availability of prey animals, habitat degradation, and hunting as a result of conflict with humans. Both African and Asian lions are included in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with the latter classified as Endangered. Once inhabiting a vast range spanning from Europe all the way to India, Asian lions still occurred from the Middle East to the central part of the subcontinent in the early 19th century but are now only found in Gir National Park, India, with 650 to 700 individuals remaining in the wild.
Such a special observance makes today a great time for Debrecen Zoo to announce yet another professional milestone and significant addition to its collection as, following years of preparation, a female Asian lion was transferred from Le Pal, France, on July 15 as a potential mate for the institution’s male named Kamal. 5-year-old Hima, as she is called, has gradually been introduced to her new environment as well as Kamal and they are now exhibited in their enclosure together, with feeding events at 13:30 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Debrecen Zoo has been home to Asian lions under a European Endangered Species Program (EAZA EEP) since the arrival of an all-male group of three from Zoo Budapest, the only other zoo in Hungary to keep this rare and highly threatened subspecies, in 2015. With his two brothers transferred to other zoos, this year it was finally time for Kamal to be paired with a female as the next step in the breeding program. Due to the current challenge of maintaining a genetically diverse zoo population within the EEP, Debrecen Zoo is not permitted to breed lions for now but hopes to be able to welcome cubs in the future.
Dr. Gergely Sándor Nagy
CEO, Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park
