‘Barami’ (19), a male lion who was called안전놀이터 ‘Rib Lion’ due to his skinny body that exposes his ribs but was moved to the Cheongju Zoo and regained his health, meets a friend to stay with.
Cheongju Zoo announced on the 19th that it plans to unite ‘Barami’ and the lioness ‘Dodo’ (12) at around 3 p.m. on the 23rd. Co-housing involves having male and female animals live in one space, and Baram and Dodo will live in the main room (about 1,000 m2) at the Cheongju Zoo.
Cheongju Zoo has been conducting preliminary training for group housing since last August. They placed each other’s belongings in the space where Baram and Dodo lived, and also trained their senses of sight and smell, such as having them smell their body odors.
Kim Jeong-ho, head of the medical care and breeding team at Cheongju Zoo, said, “For a month after Baram came, he was depressed due to poor health and a change in environment, but recently his mind and body have recovered to some extent. “I don’t think there will be any difficulty in joining the two together,” he said.
Barami was born at Seoul Children’s Grand Park in 2004 and has been living at Bukyung Zoo in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do since 2016. In human years, he is an extremely old person, around 100 years old. Barami lived alone for eight years, and due to poor management of his body, his skinny body was pitiful.
When Cheongju Zoo heard that Barami was spending the rest of her lonely life, she was offered for adoption by Bukyung Zoo and was moved to Cheongju Zoo on July 5th. Since the lion is subject to the management of the ‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’, it even received approval for the move from the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office.
Barami recovered her health in about three months after being moved to the Cheongju Zoo. Team Leader Kim said, “I believe he has gained about 10 to 20 kg because his ribs are not visible to the naked eye,” adding, “Because he is very old, he has degenerative diseases in his legs, etc., but these days, he also plays with toys.” “My mind and body have found peace,” he said.
Dodo, who was staying with her lover, lost her 20-year-old glutton who had been with her for a long time. Team Leader Kim said, “Guggo’s health was not good this year, but recently it suddenly got worse, and after consultation with an animal protection group, we sent him to the other world. Liver cancer was also discovered during filming of M.I.City.”
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