Four-year-old Arya, who travelled to London from Paignton Zoo on Tuesday 27 April 2021, has spent her first few days at the Zoo settling in, before briefly venturing outside yesterday for the first time (Thursday 29 April) - where zookeepers spotted her tail waving in amongst the leaves.
Zookeeper Tara Humphreys said: “Arya is a lively young lion who is particularly fond of climbing trees, which she'll find in abundance in her new Land of the Lions home - her favourite scent is peppermint, which she absolutely adores rolling in, so we’ve made sure to stock up on plenty of fresh bunches as a housewarming present.
“At the moment, Arya is sticking to mainly night-time explorations of her new paddock, so we’ve been giving her a bit of privacy while she settles in - but we did spot her peeking at us from behind the bushes when she crept outside today, and she’ll venture out more and more as she grows in confidence.”
To make way for Arya’s arrival, zookeepers waved a fond fur well to London-born lionesses Heidi, Indi and Rubi, who moved to Germany’s Schwerin Zoo on Thursday 8 April.
We’re so grateful for Liontrust’s support with the move - thanks to their generosity, we had individual custom crates installed in each of the lionesses bedrooms months ago, so the girls were well used to them ahead of the trip: they liked them so much that they ended up using them as cosy snoozing spots, which meant when it was time to move they simply walked inside and settled down for the journey.
The 550-mile journey was made possible by ZSL’s partners Liontrust, who kitted the big cats out with bespoke crates to ensure they travelled in style to their new home - each fitted with a customised feeding portal, so they could enjoy drinks and snacks during the flight.