Farewell to Asoka

5 February 2010

The Keepers at Chester Zoo have said their goodbyes to Asoka

The keepers at Chester Zoo have said their goodbyes to Asoka, the male lion who was born in the Zoo in 1998. The 11 year old lion travelled to Rome Zoo earlier this week in line with the recommendations of the European Studbook breeding programme.  A new two year old male lion, Iblis, from Planckendael Zoo in Belgium will shortly arrive at the 110 acre site to become a new mate for Chester Zoo’s female lion, Asha.

Tim Rowlands, Curator of Mammals at Chester Zoo, comments: “We cannot help but grow attached to the animals we look after.  However we also appreciate the need to move them in line with the studbook programme as it is always best for the species. At the moment, we are looking forward to Iblis’ arrival and aim to have him on show towards the end of February.”