Pride of Pembrokeshire

Feeding, playing, lazing around, and behaving just like they do in the wild.

Opened in 2014, our Pride of Pembrokeshire lion reserve has already attracted a lot of attention. It won a silver award for Best Enclosure Design at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) Annual Zoo Awards in 2015. That’s because we took great care designing it, after looking at the best enclosures in zoos around Europe.

You’ll see our lions have a big reserve to wander in, with rocky mounds and a scratching post they love. You can also take a peek inside their house – but there’s a private area too, where they can go if they need some quiet time.

Our large glass viewing areas mean you can get some great photos of our pride. Sometimes they’ll even come and say hello.

Where do our lions come from?

Our family of lions didn’t grow up in the wild – we would never take them away from their natural home. Hugo was born at Knowsley Safari Park in Merseyside, and Luna was born at Blackpool Zoo. So they’ve never lived in Africa. Their four cubs were born at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, on 14th September 2013.

Learn more about lions

Shockingly, the number of lions in the wild has dropped by 30% in the last ten years, and much of this decline is due to organised hunting trips. We’ll show you how you can help.

We also have an education centre in the lion house, called the Motobo Hills Lion Research Centre. Here you can learn even more about protecting lions – and the centre’s fun too, as it’s designed to look just like an African lion ranger’s hut. There are blackboards that show how to track a lion. And you’ll see how rangers use a realistic model of the savannah to mark and track the movement of their prides. This area is also home to our African clawed frogs.

Raising money for Wildlife Vets International

As part of our conservation work, we help raise funds for the UK charity, Wildlife Vets International. The money goes towards their big cat projects in the wild. Find out more.

Adopt a lion

If lions are your favourite animal we’ve got a grrr-eat gift. You can adopt a lion, what better way to show someone special you love them than by giving them the gift of a “big cat”?

Fancy feeding our lions?

Always wanted to do a big cat experience? We offer a lion feeding experience.