Germany: Topping-Out Ceremony for New Lion Enclosure at Munich’s Hellabrunn Zoo

Last week, the roofing ceremony for the new lion enclosure, which has been under construction for about ten months (cf. EAP news of 10 Dec 2020), was celebrated at Munich’s Hellabrunn Zoo. From early summer 2022, the two lion brothers Max and Benny will find a new home there on an area of around 2,400 square meters, including green areas, viewing platforms and cool caves. The shell construction of the new facility has already been completed.

“With the future lion enclosure, we are enabling contemporary husbandry for this endangered species and taking another big step towards the geozoo of biodiversity,” says zoo director Rasem Baban. Further, he explains, “The facility is designed in such a way that lion breeding of this endangered big cat species would be possible again after decades.”

The new lion enclosure will be complemented by an extensive edutainment concept that will interactively inform visitors about the natural habitat of African lions and their endangered status. The total cost of the project amounts to around four million euros. (eap)