Headaches all round in dating game 8 Apr 2011 Waikato Times Djane and Malik lived side by side for months but their disastrous first date left both injured and one in surgery. Wellington Zoo lion keepers were hopeful the pair would hit it off and with full bellies and the den to themselves, the scene was set for romance. But sparks of the wrong kind flew when feisty Djane took on her potential beau and the resulting tussle left both cats bloodied. Carnivore team leader Paul Horton said Djane had been asking for trouble and, five minutes into the encounter, the claws came out. ‘‘She got a bit too fiery, she didn’t really ‘get it’. ‘‘She just kept pushing and pushing him, and he tried to put her in line.’’ That backfired, with Djane giving Malik a swipe across the shoulder blades, leaving him with a deep gash. Keepers were originally more worried for the lioness, who also suffered a cut to her foot in the fur-flying match, but her injury turned out to be minor when she was checked under anaesthesia. Malik’s cut, on the other hand, required several stitches. ‘‘He’s lucky he’s got all that mane, she was really letting him have it.’’ Mr Horton said that, despite the fireworks, there would ‘‘absolutely’’ be a second date. Lionesses Djane, Djembe and Zahra were used to being queens of their jungle before Malik and his brother, Zulu, arrived from Christchurch late last year. ‘‘The three girls used to be in with our old lion, Sam, and he was on the back burner. He was a very small, old male and he kept himself in check.’’ Sam died in 2006 and the lionesses had not had a stable male presence since. Malik and Zulu have been living side by side with the lionesses since December, but separated by fencing to keep them from fighting. It is hoped that once they get used to each other they will be able to live as one pride. Among zoo visitors watching Malik have his wound treated was three-year old leukaemia sufferer Alexandria Anstis. Mother Louise Hight said the zoo trip was a highlight for her daughter, who wants to be a vet.
Lioness Djane has a short fuse and is the most fiery of the three lioness.' Her sister Djembe is the most relaxed while Zhara is inbetween the two. They were the only offspring of Tombo (1996) and Sheeka (1999) and were born in August 2001 at the Auckland Zoo, arriving at the Wellington Zoo in 2002.
I hope they will persist with this as the females are 12 and are getting on in their years. If the animals are impossible to introduce as a pride and are having to be maintained as two separate prides anyway the zoo could just cut it's losses and breed the most amicable lioness (Djembe) to the most docile lion (Zulu) and have at least one litter. Another option would obviously be to rehome the lioness pride (perhaps to Orana) and bring in new females although these would have to come from overseas. Hamilton Zoo has expressed an interest in having lions in the future but this is likely to be years away.
Does any body know if there have been any more attempts to introduce the lions togeather since the first attempt in 2011
I asked a keeper at a keeper talk and they said the three lioness' (born 2001) are now post-reproductive. This makes it more difficult to introduce them to the males, as they are less receptive of them.
