Suzy was the very first Lion cub ever born at Paradise Valley Springs.
She sadly passed away on the 5th of June 2009 aged 23 years.
Goodbye old girl - a tribute to Suzy Honey is 21 years old and is named for her lovely dark honey coloured coat. She has quite a nice personality and despite her old age, can actually be rather playful at times. Honey has also been a very good mother to cubs during her younger days. Jenny is 20 years old and can be a bit of a character. She is as tough as old boots, and as a result she commands a lot of respect from the other members of the pride. She is our largest Lioness and loves her food. Jenny has never raised any Cubs. Ryo is 14 years old and is the mother of our last four litters of cubs. She had a habit of running out of milk after giving birth, and always left the feeding of her Cubs to us, while she did all the rest of the rearing. Ryo has recently been spayed as she was getting too old for breeding and much too grumpy also. Max is 10 years old and the boss of the pride. Like most male Lions, he eats first at feeding time and eats the Lions share. Max can be quite aggressive when he wants to be (usually around food or his females), but behind all the noise is a big softie.
Zalika, one of our beautiful Lionesses, unfortunately passed away on the 29th of August 2009, aged 7 years.
In Memory of Zalika and Suzy Luca is 5 years old and is the current breeding female at the park. Luca is the mother of our youngest Lion who was born at the start of February 2010. You will often see Luca on top of the platform during Lion feeding, ensuring the other Lions can't get to her meat. Ben has recently turned 3 years old. He was raised by his five year old sibling Luca, along with her cub Hana. Ben is turning out to be very dominant amongst the pride due to his sheer size and attitude, and has slowly started to work his way up the pride hierarchy. Hana is also 3 years old, and spent her first year having fun interacting with the public alongside Ben who is four days older. Hana can often be found sneaking up on visitors, especially children (on the other side of the fence of course). She is a sweetheart, but also wants work her way up the pride hierarcy. Chase was born on the 2nd of February 2010. TV3's Sunrise program ran a competition to find a name for him, announced live from Paradise Valley Springs on the 31st of March. He has a great personality and can be quite adventurous when he wants to be.
Updated March 2010 Back to Lions |
