Slight change of lions here! These pictures were taken on the 9th February at Whipsnade, this is the most active that I have seen the lions at Whipsnade on all the times that I have visited. This is probably because it just happened to be at the time of the mid morning feed, this particular lioness (I am pretty sure that she was a lioness and not a castrated male due to her much smaller size and build) was more than up for an interaction at the glass and was showing off plenty! I hope you enjoy the photos, it was a fab visit!
Also the male lion, Spike, aswell as the lionesses was born at West Midlands Safari Park, making him a close relation to Linton's youngest male lion Zuri, Spike as pictured is a fairly short and stunted looking male lion, even shorter than Zuri, I wonder if this has anything to do with the breeding that takes place at the Safari Park, it is quite interesting when comparing them to Riziki (born at Woburn) who is very tall, could this just be an individual feature or could size be matched to the family groups that they are bred from? Another feature noticed is the hair that Spike has on his belly, something that Zuri does not have, this feature such as hair on the belly, is one that has been used in the past to distinguish different subspecies, this difference within individuals closely related to eachother does make me wonder whether this feature does actually mean any difference at all, and is just one that varies between every individual regardless of the breeding or 'subspecies'.
Also a side note, it was very clear to see the much thicker coats that they have grown in the Winter, Quick evolution?
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