THE TWO seven month white old lion cubs who arrived at Paphos Animal and Bird Park on Wednesday are settling in nicely after their 16-hour flight from South Africa.
Dias and Hera, as they have been named by park founder Christos Christoforou, seem relaxed and quite at home in their new specially constructed 800 square metre enclosure, and none the worse for their long journey.
Yesterday Christoforou spoke to the Cyprus Mail of his joy at finally adding cats to the ever growing list of animals which now call the park home.
“They are so friendly and playful and settled into their new enclosure immediately,” he said.
The lion’s new home is expansive and includes trees, rocks, wood and a water feature. They also have a specially constructed room in which to feed and sleep, complete with a ceramic tiled floor, which is easy for their keepers to clean.
Christoforou said: “Just before the lions left South Africa it was raining and snowing, as its winter there, and so when they arrived they were quite muddy. We are now grooming them and will give them a bath and groom them again,” he said.
“They are very beautiful creatures and we now have our first cats at the park,” he said adding: “We will get some more lions from a zoo in Denmark, they will be arriving in the middle of September.”
The parks founder said that he believed the climate of Cyprus is excellent for the lions as it is so similar to that of Africa.
He added: “We have given Dias and Hera things to play with and they both had healthy appetites from the moment they arrived here.”
Christoforou said the staff of the park was all delighted with the new additions and pleased and relieved they had settled in so quickly.
“Just after they arrived, I gave the pair two kilos of chicken each and they loved it. They will be fed beef, goat and chicken. We also give them about 150 g of cow liver every day with vitamins and extra calcium added to it.”
Christoforou said he believed the pair would breed in the future adding: “I like my animals and birds to breed because it means they are happy and they live well and are healthy. For me if something doesn’t breed it means I failed to do my job and to give them what they need.”
According to Christoforou, the lions come from only a small area of South Africa where their numbers are dwindling. His response to detractors, who say that lions and other creatures should not be kept in zoos or parks, but only in the wild, was firm.
“To these people and they are a small minority, I say of course they are entitled to their own opinion, we live in a democracy. But it’s not nice if a small percentage try to create problems for many more who don’t feel the same way. These animals are bred in captivity; it helps to protect the species. We wanted them here to show everyone what a lion looks like and to educate and teach them about these animals and how and where they live. They are very well cared for by us.”
He stressed that all of the relevant permission and licences from the Cyprus veterinary department had been issued to the park and that the inspectors were ‘very happy’ with the enclosure and other provisions which have been made for the lions.
Christoforou admits that although all animals at the park are ‘like his children,’ his first love is his extensive collection of birds which is the third largest in Europe.
The park was originally started to house Christoforou’s private collection of birds, but says he decided to open it to the public and to educate the local community about the importance of caring and conserving all bird and animal life.
Paphos bird and Animal Park took three years to construct and opened in September 2003.
Christoforou and wife Xenia both work at the park and their son, who will eventually take over the helm, is currently studying to become a vet.
Construction of a large elephant house and enclosure is currently underway at the park and will be completed well in time to welcome its new inhabitants, two female Indian elephants, who are due to arrive at the park imminently.
In addition, the pair of zebras who reside at the park have just produced a baby which was born on Wednesday. He is strong and healthy and the staff have named him Apollo.
For further information look at www.pafosbirdpark.com
