Sydney Zoo’s Lion Encounter is unlike any other experience available, the ability to be so close to such an iconic animal is truly something special. The trio of lion brothers have been at Sydney Zoo for almost five years now, and have bonded with each other and their keepers. In the wild, male lions often live and work together in groups known as a “coalition”.
The experience was fantastic from start to finish, the lion keeper started by running us through important safety protocol before entering the encounter space. Once inside, I must admit I was slightly nervous about coming face to face with such a magnificent apex predator. With the assistance of [keepers name], I was able to feed Bakari the first few pieces of meat. After the fear of being eaten had gone, I was able to appreciate the beautiful animal.
The most impressive part of the encounter was seeing the sheer size of the lions. I would not call myself a ‘short’ person (a mighty 5’9”), however, Bakari stood well over me without straining himself (pictured below). I was also surprised by how rough Bakari’s tongue was, it felt like sandpaper on my hand, [keeper name] said this helped the lions scrape meat off the bone.
Overall, my time with the lion’s was amazing, fr om learning about their behaviours in the wild to watching them act like overgrown house cats. I would recommend this experience to anyone who is interested in lion’s or anyone who has dreamed of getting a little closer to the starts of ‘The Lion King’.