A pair of tigers from The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa has been moved to a temporary new home at the Johannesburg Zoo due to upcoming construction at their mountain enclosure.
The NZG’s white tiger, Winston, and his mate, Leia, have been moved to the Johannesburg Zoo and will be housed there for the next six to nine months. Visitors need not worry about not seeing tigers; the NZG’s third tiger, Lolo, will still be on display to the public.
The vital revamp of the enclosure starts this month on the three tiger and lion enclosures with the replacement of the fences around the enclosure to make them more animal and visitor-friendly, making the water pools bigger and expanding and modernising the animals’ night quarters. The big cats’ mountain homes were built in the 1960s. The NZG’s lions are to be moved later this month or early next month to the Lion Park in Krugersdorp.
As many of the structures to be renovated are older than 60 years they are considered to be heritage sites. As a result, the relevant structures may be broken down, but only adapted to conform to the current look and feel of the buildings concerned.