Dakota Is Now Located In Michigan At Potter Park Zoo

By Billie Harris

Lansing, MI - Potter Park Zoo is proud to announce the addition of a male African Lion to its family of world-class animals.

The two-year-old lion named Dakota arrived on October 29 from the Ft. Wayne Children’s Zoo in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. His arrival expands the zoo’s African Lion population to three.

Dakota, originally born at the North Carolina Zoo, was named in honor of a young cancer victim. Kyle Vessa, of Oak Ridge North Carolina, suggested the name of Dakota in memory of his best friend, Dakota Gauldin. Gauldin passed away in March 2007 at age 16 after a four-year battle with cancer.

Dakota will be kept in quarantine for a 30-day period, which is standard protocol for all new animals arriving at Potter Park Zoo. Zoo guests will be able to greet the new arrival around early December.

Dakota’s transfer to Potter Park Zoo was recommended by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ (AZA) African Lion Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative-management program in which all accredited AZA zoos in North America participate. The SSP programs are designed to manage the breeding of a species in order to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable.

Potter Park Zoo currently has two other African Lions, a 19-year-old female named Amboseli and a two-year old female named Mashavu. Amboseli has been with the Zoo since she was two months old. Mashavu arrived at Potter Park Zoo in April 2008. SSP coordinators are hoping to pair Dakota with Potter Park Zoo’s younger female lion, Mashavu for breeding.

Zoo Director Gerry Brady said the addition of Dakota presents a fantastic opportunity to breed the animals.