Pittsburgh Zoo welcomes new male lion Hondo
The Pittsburgh Zoo has a new African lion, and so far, he's been a hit with the ladies.
The zoo on Tuesday announced that 8-year-old Hondo has arrived from the Idaho Falls Zoo. The hope is that he'll be a companion for lionesses Abana and Scarlett. The females came to the zoo in 2019 with Kit, who died in 2023.
The zoo said it had a few choices, but Hondo's "robust" genes and experience living with females made him "the most eligible bachelor."
How Hondo will join the pride
The zoo said lions are social animals with a unique pride structure, and introducing a lion to an existing pride isn't easy, especially because females take longer to accept a new member. It could take anywhere from three months to five years, but so far, the zoo says it's looking pretty good for Hondo.
"There were lots of matches, but Hondo was the best fit," curator of mammals Kelsey Forbes said in a news release. "He is good with females having lived with his mother and two younger sisters. Here in Pittsburgh so far, Hondo is a perfect gentleman, and the ladies are obsessed with him."
So far, it's been meets and greets through a mesh barrier so they can learn each other's personalities, but next week will be the big moment: full contact.
"They will roar at each other, they'll hiss at each other, they'll spit at each other. We haven't seen too much of it, which is all a good sign, so when we open the door, we are expecting it to be very loud, very vocal, some contact may be had, a lot of contact may be had. We're planning for everything," Forbes said.
As Hondo gets used to his new home and future pride-mates, the zoo says he and the lionesses will alternate on view in their outdoor habitat. Initial signs of a bond include behaviors that look friendly like grooming and head rubbing, but some gestures like swatting, hissing and biting may be alarming to guests. The zoo says it's all part of the process.
Lions also typically call at sunrise and sunset, and the zoo says Scarlett and Abana are already responding to Hondo's call.
Hondo's arrival is part of the zoo's bigger mission of helping support species in serious decline. Lions face the threat of human-animal conflict, such as poaching and more.
"Deforestation is obviously a big one, and the growing expansion of farmlands is a big one," Forbes said.
"About 50 years ago, there was about 200,000 lions left. Today there's less than 24,000," Fobres added.
As for whether the pride will expand to include some little lion cubs, Forbes says, "That remains up to them!"
