The Mérida City Council works in coordination with other states in the country to guarantee the protection, conservation, and care of wild species in municipal zoos, Mayor Alejandro Ruz Castro said in a statement.
As part of this work, the municipal president reported that on February 29, the Animaya Bicentenario Zoological Park received a pair of lions (“Panthera leo”), from the Yumká Nature Interpretation and Coexistence Center, in Tabasco, where they have been in temporary shelter since last January 25.
Both felines are out of public view, as they are in the quarantine and observation area of the Wildlife Conservation Management Unit (UMA), and later upon completion of the construction of the “Balam Balam” felinarium. Animaya will be part of the space.
Ruz Castro mentioned that both specimens were secured by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) in the state of Tabasco.
“The juvenile male is approximately two years old, is just beginning to develop the mane typical of the species, and still has scars on his neck left by the chain with which his owner kept him tied up in his home,” he said.
In addition, he explained that the male is a white specimen due to a natural mutation in the genes that determine coat color. “It is a rare mutation and it is important not to confuse it with albinism, which is the total absence of pigment in the eyes, skin, and hair. In white lions, the color of their fur varies from gold to tones close to white,” explained the councilor.
In the case of the female, he commented, she is a puppy of approximately five months old, that is in the process of recovering from an adequate body condition, and is playful and docile.
On their trip, they were guarded by personnel from the Profepa delegation in Tabasco and veterinary doctors from Yumká. Alejandro Ruz highlighted that the transfer occurred in a coordinated manner between the Mérida City Council, through the Directorate of Municipal Public Services and the Animaya Wildlife Conservation Center; the Technical Directorate of the Yumká Nature Conservation and Interpretation Center, and the Profepa Tabasco delegation.
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