Elsa and Takko are living together now!

For Elsa, this marks an important opportunity to once again experience life as a “real” lion. Two-year-old Takko has proved to be an excellent companion and ambassador, and from now on, visitors can see the two lions together every day in the original lion enclosure in the African district of the zoo.

Adapting Elsa to her new home has been quite challenging from the very beginning. Our keepers therefore proposed moving her from our new Lion Rescue and Breeding Center to the original lion enclosure, where she could be introduced to Takko, a young male Katanga lion. We believed that contact with a young male could help her develop her social skills and become accustomed to living alongside another lion. We therefore decided to completely revise our original husbandry plans and focus entirely on helping Elsa gradually adapt to her new surroundings.

After a month of patient and carefully paced introductions, we are celebrating a great success. Today, Elsa and Takko entered the larger enclosure in the former lion exhibit together for the first time. Elsa appears calm and confident, moving freely throughout the enclosure and choosing her favorite spots, while Takko follows her wherever she goes.

This successful introduction has also highlighted one of the great advantages of our new Lion Rescue and Breeding Center, where we have combined our rescue mission with long-term conservation breeding. At the same time, the original lion enclosure provides an ideal environment for gradual adaptation and socialization.

As we have learned, sometimes the best animal husbandry plan is knowing when to change the original one.

Come and meet Elsa and Takko for yourself!