Bavaria: New lion enclosure for Max and Benny in the Munich zoo

Munich (dpa / lby) - hills and caves in the African savannah style: Munich's Hellabrunn Zoo has a new lion enclosure.

Bavaria: New lion enclosure for Max and Benny in the Munich zoo

Munich (dpa / lby) - hills and caves in the African savannah style: Munich's Hellabrunn Zoo has a new lion enclosure. The approximately 2400 square meter domicile for the two lion brothers Max and Benny was opened on Friday after 18 months of construction.

The move of the two adult lions, each weighing around 200 kilos, was a logistical challenge, the zoo said. On the day of the move in early May, the two eleven-year-old animals were anesthetized with a blowpipe and tranquilizer dart and examined in detail.

It was shown that both animals had the first health impairments due to their age, explained veterinarian Christine Gohl. "Lion Max suffers from chronic heart failure, which limits his physical resilience. His brother Benny has impaired kidney function due to a pathological change in a kidney."

The facility is much larger than the previous one. In addition to an animal house, it also has an outdoor area with bathing bays, heated retreat caves and viewing hills. Max and Benny shouldn't be moving in. But for the future, the zoo is already thinking that a whole family of lions could live on the site.