On Thursday morning South Bend got to meet Kembe, Shtuko and Shaba for the first time.
The trio of great cats are the latest addition to the Potawatomi Zoo and were made possible through $1.5 million in donations from the Veldman and Ladig families, as well as some money from the St. Joseph County motel-hotel tax.
The Potawatomi Zoo’s executive director Josh Sisk said the new lion enclosure is converted from an old chimpanzee area and is separate from where the zoo’s previous lions Tango and Onyo were kept.
“This is just the next step. Instead of seeing behind the bars, you’re nose to nose with the lions at the glass. There’s space, there’s grass, there’s climbing structures. It’s what a true modern zoo should be,” Sisk said.
The lions have been at the zoo for a little over a month undergoing quarantine indoors. And though there are just three for now, Sisk is crossing his fingers about the possibility of cubs as the zoo has been given the go-ahead for a breeding program.
Kembe, the male lion weighs about 400 pounds, with the two females weighing around 300 pounds. All three lions are around 10 years old and have lived together after being rescued as cubs in South Africa.
Thursday’s unveiling is the just the latest in a series of improvements to the zoo. Last year, Potawatomi welcomed giraffes and next year, bears and a revamped concession stand are on the way. In 2024, the zoo has its eyes set on tigers.
“When I first moved here, this zoo was considered the cute little zoo, but you went somewhere else in the region if you wanted to go to a real zoo,” Sisk said. “It’s been amazing over the years to be recognized as the community zoo, the zoo the community is proud of.”
With the stampede of new arrivals, Sisk said the zoo’s goal is to bring in 400,000 visitors annually over the coming years.
“We’ve just been growing like you would not believe. It doesn’t take years to get things done. We come up with a plan, we have the state, the local support and it’s just coming to life,” Sisk said.
