Aug. 19--It's about 10 minutes into the Lincoln Park Zoo's latest attempt to socialize two new lions with Sahar, the zoo's 5-year-old male, and he is not having it.
The clever boy plopped down right in front of the doorway where the new cats -- 2-year-old female lions from the Oregon Zoo -- would ideally enter the outdoor exhibit and start engaging with him. But he is foiling the plan, blocking their potential path while enjoying the shade and happily flicking his tail. The zookeepers do not deny their frustration.
"I know the girls could be coming out this door, so I'm just gonna sit here," lead carnivore zookeeper Anthony Nielsen said, imagining what the smart, stubborn cat was thinking.
Whether he wants it or not, Nielsen said, Sahar needs companionship. Especially after last year, when the lion's friend, Myra, the zoo's 18-year-old female lion, had to be euthanized due to old age.
Lions are extroverts, Nielsen said. They hunt in packs and live in prides. "In the wild, they'll wander looking for other lions to link up with -- females, other lions who've been kicked out (by an alpha)."
The Oregon sisters were part of an arrangement to fill that gap -- platonically, for now. And it's not easy.
Their enclosure is taped off, creating a makeshift buffer between curious humans and the lions' habitat. Big signs read: "We're giving our lions a little privacy as we introduce Sahar to new females Zalika and Kamali." But Sahar's not budging.
"Is he nervous?" asked 6-year-old Olivia Printzlau. She stood on her tiptoes behind the tape with her cousin Dominic Maloney, 6, to get a peek.
Suddenly, as if Sahar were bored with being boring, he stood up and crept to the other side of the exhibit -- far from the doorway -- and disappeared behind a pair of rocks. Nielsen seemed to hold his breath until Sahar climbed up on top of the rocks and again plopped down, this time bathing in the sun. His guard was down a bit.
Calmly, Nielsen got on the radio to let the keepers inside know the doorway was clear. He didn't get his hopes up.
"They're stubborn inside as well," he said of the two females.
Sure enough, the sisters were "back in their den." Another day of back-and-forth.
Tuesday marked about five weeks since the start of the socialization process. It typically takes about six months until the zoo can comfortably leave the lions together overnight, Nielsen said. "Hopefully sooner."
"Come on girls!" said Jillian Braun, a zoo spokeswoman, as she cheered on the sisters who were back in their dens.
Braun said the Oregon arrangement was a product of the inter-zoo Species Survival Plan, which determines when zoo and aquarium animals should be socialized, bred and, sometimes, released from captivity.
Soon, unbeknownst to Sahar, who was now making his way down from the rocks, the two sisters slinked out of a doorway in the exhibit's grassy moat area.
When they settled down in the next few seconds -- Zalika, the braver of the two, panting peacefully in front of Kamali -- Sahar bolted. He lunged to the edge of the cliff separating the moat from the top area and stared down at the girls, pacing. Zalika stared back.
He sprayed urine, marking his territory, then ran through the den door and slipped behind the scenes. Within seconds, his amber eyes were visible through the dark moat door. Then his mane. Then his face as he lunged toward the girls in a show of who's boss. The sisters ran to the edge of the exhibit, the three of them roaring in confrontation, and then split up.
Sahar went back above, the sisters stayed below. They played a sort of peek-a-boo between the top and bottom level.
Nielsen watched excitedly, taking photos and videos of the progress with his iPad. A fire extinguisher sat to his right, a harmless distraction, just in case.
There's a long way to go before they're comfortable with each other, but the roaring and playing and pacing -- "This is really good," Nielsen said.
rcrosby@tribpub.com
