Getting to know our lions

We have a pride of six lions at Blair Drummond Safari Park and they are all related to each other.  Our two adult females, Karis and Libby, are sisters, and they both have offspring fathered by our previous alpha male Zulu.  Karis is mother to two girls – Isla and Thistle – who were born in 2016.  Karis’ sister Libby then gave birth to  a further two female cubs in 2019 – Hope and Faith.

This form of ‘matrilineal society’ is very natural for lions.  In the wild, a pride of related females will work together to hunt and care for their cubs.  They are usually joined by one alpha male, who is very protective over his harem.  Male offspring will usually leave their mother around two years old, before they reach sexual maturity.

Sadly, Zulu died of leukaemia in March 2021.  This means that our pride currently doesn’t have an alpha male, but this doesn’t cause any issues to the wellbeing of our lions.  They all socialise well together and if, at any time, a new male is introduced to the pride, this will be carefully considered and done with great care.