Two 3.5-month-old lions in a zoo in Türkiye's Bursa were taken outside for the first time to play and explore their surroundings, the head caretaker said Thursday.
Stating that after a one-month orientation period, the lion cubs will be released into the same habitat as the zoo's four other baby lions, the head caretaker of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Zoo, Önder Sevim, said: "Today, we released them into our reserve area. We will let them get used to (the environment). We will help them bond with each other and the four other little ones here."
''We have four more lions, two females and two males, between the ages of 1.5 and 2. We think they will get used to each other after about one month of orientation," Sevim noted.
Stating that the baby lions were surprised by the new experience and started exploring immediately, Sevim said: "They are very confused right now. They are happy because they are on the ground. They are jumping. They are playing. They are both surprised and a little nervous. It is nice for them, too.''
Emphasizing that the zoo provides food rich in protein and milk, Sevim also pointed out that it is the third time they are raising a generation of lion cubs, a task that makes the staff both happy and appreciate the work they are doing.
Bursa Zoo, established on an area of 206,600 square meters (2,223,824 square feet), is a full member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). It has world-class modern grounds that offer an environment consisting of 11 ponds, around 2,000 trees, 150,000 plants and animal habitats. The zoo plans to continue to expand its population.
