Blackpool Zoo have been busy celebrating their 45th anniversary this year, while also marking 10 years since the zoo’s Pride of Blackpool Big Cat House opened to the public.
The zoo also keep the only father and son lion group in the UK, who have also been celebrating birthdays in recent weeks. Wallace turned nine on Tuesday 30th May and Khari celebrated his second birthday just a day later on Wednesday 31st May.
The pair were left as the only residents in the lion house at the zoo after the cub’s mother passed away unexpectedly in 2015. Khari was just seven months old at the time and father and son have become inseparable ever since.
Adam Kenyon, Section Head of Large Mammals at Blackpool Zoo, said: “It has been amazing to watch Khari and Wallace over the past two years, they have such a special bond.
“They play together during the day and snuggle up each evening. Khari is becoming a man in his own right now and is half way between a cute fluffy cub and an impressive fully grown male!
“We were devastated when Rachel passed away and we kept a close watch on little Khari in the following weeks and months.
“He was unsure about the situation at first but within 24 hours he was eating normally and had turned his attention to Wallace for care and reassurance.
“Wallace isn’t a first time father and has always been fantastic with cubs in the past, so we were confident that he would take to his role as a single father very well.
The Pride of Blackpool attraction opened in 2007 and two-year-old Wallace arrived from Longleat Safari Park in 2008. He became father to three beautiful female cubs in 2009 and then to Khari in 2015.
For more information on visiting Blackpool Zoo go to www.blackpoolzoo.org.uk
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