The Bedford Estates, LondonMale African lions Kojo and Kahari celebrated their 5th birthday last week, with the help of the dedicated Carnivore Team.
Keeper Juliet created a huge number 5 out of cardboard for the pair to explore as part of their own 'birthday party'! Strong scents were sprayed onto the boxes to attract the big cats' attention.
Valuable Enrichment
Environmental or behavioural enrichment, whereby some form of stimulation is introduced to encourage natural behaviours, plays a huge part in the lives of all of the animals at the Park, so the keepers jumped at the chance to spoil the pair with a birthday present they knew the lions would love.
Kojo and Kahari were keen to use their natural instincts, investigating the new and unfamiliar scents and marking their own scents onto the boxes. They then wasted no time tearing them apart using their sharp claws and strong legs!
Scent-based activities are incredibly valuable and stimulating for African lions, as they encourage them to use the special olfactory organ on the roof of their mouths called the Jacobson's organ. They particularly love to rub their cheeks and necks over new scents, to take them in and spread their own scent around!
Brotherly Bond
As brothers, Kahari and Kojo are exceptionally close. Male sibling lions nearly always form very tight bonds - and they can often be spotted hanging out together in the reserve.
The pair were born back in 2019 and have grown to a particularly impressive size. They are distinctive from the rest of the pride as the two biggest individuals in the group, each weighing almost 300kg!
Images and video kindly provided by Keeper Lauren