The Denver Zoo’s will make his first public appearance in the next couple of weeks.
Two year-old Tobias, an African lion, joined the in mid-December from the Buffalo Zoo, according to a Thursday news release. He is going through a 30-day quarantine until zoo officials can introduce him to the public the week of Jan. 21.
Caretakers plan to introduce Tobias to the zoo’s three female lions, and they hope he will mate with Kamara, 3, and Neliah, 6.
“Tobias is already showing signs that he’s feeling right at home at the Zoo — he’s acclimating to his new surroundings and participating in training sessions with our care team,” Matt Lenyo, assistant curator of predators, said in the release. “If all goes well, we’ll hopefully have a successful match with at least one of the females, which could mean lion cubs within the next couple years.”
African lions are considered vulnerable to extinction so zoo officials hope Tobias can help with “maintaining a healthy, genetically-diverse population of African lions.”
He came from the Buffalo Zoo after getting a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariams’ Species Survival Plan.
