Lion from Morocco Struggles to Adapt at Paris Zoo, Cubs Expected Soon

Despite his stately bearing and huge paws, Volcan, the new lion who arrived in mid-November at the Vincennes zoo (Paris, 12th) from the Rabat zoological garden, struggles to make his place within his new family, reports Le Parisien. He is no match for Kibo. "I wouldn’t say they adore each other but rather that they tolerate each other," observes Alexis Lécu, scientific director of the zoo. The two males hardly see each other except through grids.

The rare encounters between the two lions took place in the presence of the lionesses as a safety measure. "Volcan had some inclinations to play the big shot and impose himself on Kibo. But the two lionesses Aswad and Bunni took Kibo’s side," the veterinarian recounts. The reason? Blood ties. "It’s a bit like geopolitics, the arrival of a new feline in an already established clan," the specialist jokes. "You can’t go too fast, otherwise it turns into a brawl!" Will Volcan succeed in reigning over the heated rock, an enormous rock in full sun?

With the arrival of Volcan, the management of the Paris Zoological Park expects the birth of cubs during the first half of 2021. The lion from Rabat and the lioness Bunni frolicked very quickly. On Wednesday, veterinarians and caregivers sedated Bunni for a short hour to perform an ultrasound and check that the lioness was not pregnant. "Unfortunately, the ultrasound revealed nothing. But as the lionesses will soon be in heat again, anything is possible!" they hope.