May 14, 2005 12:44 pm US/Central
CBS 2 At Brookfield Zoo: Makonnen The Lion
(CBS 2)
The king of the jungle reigns supreme at Brookfield Zoo this month.
The zoo is celebrating lions, and CBS 2's Susan Carlson is taking us into their den.
Brookfield Zoo will highlight lions this weekend and next weekend because it's bringing the pride back to the zoo.
Makonnen is the first step in doing that. The four-year-old male African lion is a relatively new resident, arriving from the Memphis Zoo. He's been adjusting to his new home.
He's kind of a bachelor and lives alone. But usually, female lions keep lion families together.
The females are the ones who hand down territory through generations. Only about a third of female lions will leave the pride they are born in to find other places to live. But male lions, either by themselves or in coalitions of up to seven, will wander the plains to find a pride to take over.
Makonnen, whose name means "ruler" or "leader" in Swahili, is usually quiet, but he can get very loud. His roar can be heard up to five miles away to signal that it's his domain, and he doesn't want anyone to come in.
Brookfield Zoo workers placed a bag of clothes in a tree in his habitat to lure him outside. In the wild, male lions use their sense of smell to patrol territories. The zoo mimics the experience to give him the environment he needs.
His vision is very acute. Just like humans, he can see straight in front of his nose and can see in color.
Come see Makonnen outside every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the Fragile Kingdom.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc., All Rights Reserved.)
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