Lincoln Park Zoo Lions Moved To Kansas During Habitat Renovations

CHICAGO — Lincoln Park Zoo's pride of lions will be moved to Kansas while the Kovler Lion House is renovated. The $35 million renovation, which is slated to begin in the fall, will include climate control upgrades, new tree structures and a food zipline.

The new habitat will allow guests to watch the lions from both inside and outside the Kovler Lion House, with a design that puts viewers in the center of the habitat. The new space will also include a demonstration training wall where guests can watch the lions participating in their own healthcare.

In preparation for the building renovation, the current pride of lions, including 9-year-old male Sahar and 5-year-old female littermates Kamali and Zalika, will be leaving Lincoln Park Zoo in the coming weeks for Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, Kansas. The African Lion Species Survival Program will then decide whether it's in the pride's best interest to return, or if a new pride should take its place.

Lincoln Park Zoo members said goodbye to the pride in a special send-off event Saturday morning.

The Kovler Lion House, which originally opened in 1912, is a historic landmark and the last project of The Pride of Chicago, the zoo’s $135 million capital campaign.

The new Kovler habitat is slated to open in the 2020s, but an opening date hasn't been set, the zoo said.