new lioness in the house!

the new lioness is out of quarantine and now living in her new home in the lion house. sukari was moved to the lion house last wednesday and spent her first day getting exams and settling in. for now she will only have access to the night quarters in the lion house while she gets used to her new surroundings, keepers, neighbors and companion. her access to the outside grotto exhibit im told will depend on how soon she feels comfortable inside. tiny steps to success! ... her new roommate is intended to be tunya, pending how well they do in howdy gate intro's. right now she is still shy and per the keeper has not ventured far out of her secluded night quarter which at necessary times is used as the nesting box area for pregnant felines and newborns. the cage door to the next cage is open and she can come out into the lion house when she wants and is in the caged area next to tunya, with one cage room between them. ... i went thurs and the lion house was closed, was bummed not to get to see her. today, lion house was open and she was in the nesting area and not visible. i thought i wouldnt get to see her but when i went back over there she was sitting and looking out thru the keepers door and i could see her pretty good! yea! she looks cute and big! i stood there for some time talking low to her saying hi and that we cant wait to meet her and that her keepers are nice and her new boyfriend is a sweetheart ;) she stared at me the whole time. then tunya came in and she looked at him once and then back over at me. after awhile i left so that she would look at tunya. he seems most interested in her! so i think they will be a good match when she gets comfortable. ... i think that our zoo has a unique situation in the lion house, where visitors are closer up than in most zoos. that said i think it may be awhile before she gets used to that. ... i have tried to get more info on her by email to the zoo she came from, but they have not responded to 4 attempts. will keep trying. ... stay tuned for pix as soon as i get some. i took a couple (no flash!) but i know before even looking at them they arent going to be great. heres one, open bigger to see her best. ... i cant wait til shes out in the yard and as happy to be here as we all are to meet her! welcome sukari! ... also see november post, new lioness in town! ... updated 12.30.09 i called the zoo she came from (tautphaus park) and they said "they don't give out any info on the animals?!?!?" odd but i worded stuff in such a way that i got this much, she is not yet 6 yrs old (they said younger than kimani), she was not born there, although the gal said something about oklahoma and mentioned a sister, but would have to "look it up" to be certain. she did breed with a male named dahoma, who was brought in at just over a year old to be her mate. they produced two litters, one female in each litter. she didn't have the info on where those two babies went. i thanked her for this info and i think its all we are going to get. ... updated 12.31.09 the first baby girl born in july 6 2007 and is named mfisha (meaning fighter), the second named ahadi (hope) was born in january 2008. they were both hand raised and moved together to the henry doorly zoo in omaha on a future ssp breeding recommendation. there's a pic of them here http://aokineko.deviantart.com/art/Mfisha-and-Ahdi-116678845 they are cute! and clearly one looks like sukari and one like dahoma.