Lonely lioness introduced to potential new love interest at Edinburgh Zoo

24-07-2012
Lonely lioness introduced to potential new love interest at Edinburgh Zoo
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http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/112227-lonely-lioness-introduced-to-potential-new-love-interest-at-the-zoo/

A lonely lioness has been introduced to a potential new love interest.

Kamlesh, who turns 15 later this year, is the resident single Asiatic lion at Edinburgh Zoo.

Last month, keepers introduced her to Jayendra, a one-year-old lion known as Jay who has been moved from Bristol Zoo.

It is hoped the couple will breed once Jay hits maturity and the pair are already getting along.

Keeper Alison Maclean said: "It's great news that we have Jay at the Zoo and he has already been introduced successfully to Kamlesh our feisty female Asiatic lion. When you're introducing any animal to another animal for the first time there is always uncertainty, especially when it's two very powerful lions.

"Kamlesh is around 13 years older than Jay and is slightly larger in size than him too, so it was going to be interesting to see how they would react to each other. I'm glad to say that they seem to have hit it off, and they could even be spotted curled up sleeping together on the first night after the introductions - which is a great sign.

"Jay has been submissive to Kamlesh and she is definitely the boss in the relationship for now anyway. We expect this will change when Jay reaches sexually maturity and takes over as the dominant one in the pair. We are hopeful that they will become a breeding pair and produce cubs in the not too distant future which would be fantastic for us at the Zoo and the on going conservation and breeding programme for these incredibly endangered animals."

Asiatic lions are engendered with just 175 left in the wild.