Potter Park Zoo welcomes new male lion

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The addition of a new male lion at Potter Park Zoo, 1301 S. Pennsylvania Ave., in Lansing, will give zoo patrons a rare look into the rebuilding of the African lion population through breeding in American zoos.

The 2-year-old African lion, named Dakota, arrived there on Oct. 29 from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Dakota’s arrival is the most recent one meant to spark breeding to reinforce wild animal populations abroad, said zoo director Gerald Brady.

“It’s quite exciting to be breeding all of these big cats,” Brady said, mentioning similar breeding programs for snow leopards and tigers. “We have a strong large-cat breeding program — and with new graphics and education process, we are enhancing visitor experience at the zoo.”

By starting breeding in captivity with genetically sound lions like Dakota, wild populations can become more diverse and flourish as more lions are reintroduced to their natural habitats, said Dennis Liedler, education curator at Potter Park Zoo.

Dakota’s future mate will be a 2-year-old female African lion named Mashavu, who came to Potter Park Zoo from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan., last spring.

“It’s nice having dramatic examples of animals like lions,” Liedler said. “Lions are a great example of a species that isn’t endangered yet, but they’re getting close. (Zoos are) starting captive breeding because they are genetically rare.”

Dakota is not on exhibit because he is still in his 30-day quarantine period at the zoo. The zoo keeps new animals away from the animals who already reside in exhibits in order to limit possible damage if the new animal has some sort of disease, said Tara Harrison, veterinarian and animal curator at Potter Park Zoo.

“If you’ve ever gone on vacation on an airplane ride, it’s the same reason (we keep him quarantined),” Harrison said. “Being transported by vehicle can cause him to be sick even if he’s acting healthy — he could be incubating something and then expose the other animals to it later. Instead of having many sick animals, we’ll have just one.”

Although Dakota has adjusted to life in quarantine, Harrison said the adjustment process will continue once after he’s introduced to his future mate.

“He’s doing fine, but he hasn’t been on exhibit yet,” Harrison said. “He hasn’t been introduced to the female yet, so the adjustment period isn’t quite over.”

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