[Columbia, SC] - At Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, it's not March that roars in like a lion, but rather February. This morning, Riverbanks announced that a new pedigreed African male lion named Zuri has moved to the Zoo.

"Zuri is just a youngster, so it'll be a little while before he's mature enough to fend for himself against our two adult females, Brynn and Lindsey. Until he's a little bigger and they've been formally introduced, Zuri and the two girls will take turns being out on exhibit," said John Davis, Curator of Mammals at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

Zuri was born on August 15, 2004 at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas – the same zoo from which Riverbanks' two new giraffes, Charlie and Sharon, recently moved. There are only 181 pedigreed African lions in 43 zoos nationwide. Pedigreed lions are those whose ancestors can be traced back to the wild; Zuri's lineage traces back to regions of southern Africa where the Panthera leo krugeri has particular prevalence in northern Namibia, Botswana, and southern Zaire to southern Mozambique.

Zuri's move from Kansas was recommended by the African lion Species Survival Plan (SSP), which called for a male to be introduced to Riverbanks' two females. It's likely that an SSP recommendation for Zuri to mate with either lioness won't come until he's matured, possibly in three to four years.

Guests can expect to see Zuri on exhibit between 9:00am and 3:00pm for at least the next month while he gets used to his new habitat. Once he is introduced to the Zoo's two lionesses, which may take anywhere from a few months to a year, his exhibit time will be lengthened.

"Introducing lions can be a long and challenging process, particularly because they're such potentially aggressive animals," said Davis. "Once they form a pride, they're incredibly stable and will stay together a long time, but we like to take it slowly with lots of visual introductions first to ensure that everything goes smoothly."

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