Lovers' quarrel forces lions to separate

An 11-year-old female lion is being removed from the Magnetic Hill Zoo in New Brunswick after sexual tension between her and a young male turned to violence.

Bruce Dougan, general manager of the zoo in Moncton, N.B., said in his 39 years of working with lions he has never seen one lion hate another so intensely.

The lioness, Kito, had become depressed after the death in January of Marshall, the zoo's male lion and her longtime companion. Two cubs — Azizi, a male, and Amara, a female — were welcomed to the zoo in the spring to keep Kito company.

Dougan said the introduction of the cubs went well at first, but problems emerged as the older female went into heat.

"When she did that she became frustrated with Azizi, who didn't know what his role was in that situation," Dougan said. "He was a very young male, and that frustration turned to anger and then aggression."

Dougan said the best thing for all the animals is to return Kito to the zoo in Ontario where she was born. She will leave the Magnetic Hill Zoo later this month.

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This story has sparked some interesting comments from you about the difficulties between Kito the lioness and the young male lion Azizi. Here are a few of your thoughts on this nasty relationship.

1) There's no way this case could make it to Divorce Court, because she'd just be lion (lyin') on the witness stand.

2) Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I guess that applies to lions as well. A zoo keeper should not find this surprising.

3) The zoo management should have known better than to introduce a male into the enclosure so soon after Marshall had died. All the big cats (cougars, lions, panthers) are high enough up the chain to know sorrrow at the passing of a long-time mate.

Cougars in BC have been known to mourn for months when family members die.

Kito will get over it. It probably is not necessary to move her, just keep the young male away from her and find another, older Tom and all should turn out just fine.

4) This is the problem with keeping lions in capitivity in such small numbers. Like a pack of wolves, a pride of lions has a social hierarchy that would have seen an older second-rank male take her old mate's place.

No wonder the young male was confused in such a fractured environment!

5) Why didn't they try counseling first?

6) I bet there were some Hyena lawyers on the scene pretty quick .