Meet our Lions
Napoleon
Hi I’m Napoleon!
I’m one of three non-breeding male African lions at Cheetah Experience. I live with my best friend Acinonyx. When volunteers have sleepovers in the house overlooking my enclosure, I like to roar from 4.30am in the morning onwards, to try and wake them up. But don’t tell them I said that!
A lion’s roar can be heard up to 8km far!
Male lions weigh between 180-250kg when fully grown at 3-5 years of age. The African lion is classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red list, with our population decreasing. Our main threat is habitat loss, however humans over-breeding lions in captivity and contaminating the gene pool will also begin to play a role in our demise.
Anneka
Hello I’m Anneka!
I am Max's new friend. In 2020 my long term friend Diago passed away due to old age, the staff at the facility I lived visited Cheetah Experience and heard that Max needed a friend. After lots of discussions I agreed to meet Max.
He is the same age as me, tall, dark and handsome. Max was smitten with me from day one, I am still playing it cool, but definitely happy to have found a new home and new friends.
Before I moved I had a big operation, they called it a sterilisation. It will make sure that I never have to have cubs, thank goodness!
Acinonyx
Hello I’m Acinonyx!
I’m a non-breeding white lion, and my best friend is Napoleon. Even though Napoleon and I aren’t brothers, we grew up together, so love each other as brothers do, and can be in the same enclosure as each other. People always say I have very beautiful eyes.
While a lion’s mane can help protect them from injury around the neck and chest area, it isn’t just for protection, the colour can indicate a males strength as well as health. This tells potential mates, or rivals, just how powerful the lion is. The darker the mane, the more dominant the lion. The mane colour can change depending on the lions general health, as the lion loses dominance the mane will also lose colour
Max
Hi I’m Max!
I’m a non-breeding brown male lion. I like to spend time by myself. Over the last year I have begun to roar like the king that I am. I used to be really shy and would not roar in front of people, but now I am brave.
Lions can gain speeds of up to 50 km/hour in short bursts, and can leap forward approximately 36 feet. Lions are nocturnal and hunt at night so they are not active during the day unless they see an opportunity that they cannot pass up on. They can sleep up to 16 hours a day, and are considered the laziest of all the big cats.
