FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): There’s a new addition coming to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo… and he’s just PURRfect.
Bahati is a two-year-old male lion who will be coming to Fort Wayne from a zoo in Racine, Wisconsin soon, as part of the 2017 season. He’ll be slowly introduced to Ina, the zoo’s female lion, and is described as “intelligent, curious, and a problem solver.”
Bahati replaces Bill, a 10-year-old lion and a local favorite who died after being diagnosed with cancer last April.
“The loss of Bill the lion was one that hit us all very hard,” says Bridget Pearson, Director of Communications. “The announcement of Bahati means that once again our guests can have that awe-inspiring moment of seeing a male lion right in front of them! It’s through connecting our guests with amazing animals, that we can plant a seed to care about conservation and the habitats of animals in the wild. Bahati’s arrival is one more—rather large—way we get to connect kids and animals. We couldn’t be more excited!”
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is an accredited organization through AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) and collaborates with other accredited organizations to manage the Species Survival Plans for various species, including the African lion.
After reviewing the existing African lion population, the final recommendation was to move Bahati to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo to join Ina. There are currently no breeding recommendations for Bahati and Ina.
