Bye-bye to Lion King Nestor - Zoo Antwerpen (B) - Zoovenirs (59)
Lion King Nestor... an iconic animal for Zoo Antwerpen!
Nestor was born there himself in 2012.
In October 2020, 2 lionesses, Tasa and Kira joined him and after a while, Tasa got pregnant. She gave birth to 3 lion cubs, Whisker, Waka and Winta, in June 2021.
In August 2022, on exactly the day of Nestor's 10th birthday, he became father again to a 2nd litter. Again 3 lion cubs, Xesar, Xira and Xabi.
l included some older footage to show you what a joy it was to watch them all getting along so well. Indeed, one big, happy lion family!
No wonder the number of fans was growing steadily.
But a few weeks ago, those fans were very sad about the news that Nestor would leave Zoo Antwerpen and go to Bellewaerde Park in the Belgian Province of West Flanders.
The lions of Zoo Antwerpen add significant genes to the breeding programme, that benefits the survival of the East and Central African lions.
Hopefully, Nestor will continue to contribute by mating with the 2 lionesses Maya and Numa, so new cubs will be born.
Nestor will be missed and the absence of his roars will be noticed...
We wish him all the best! 🦁🥰❤
In May 2023, Waka and Winta moved to Whipsnade Zoo in England and are doing very well meanwhile in the company of lion Malik.
Mama Tasa, big brother Whisker, Xesar, Xabi and Xira stay in Zoo Antwerpen for now.
This arrangement means : no new lion cubs anytime soon in Zoo Antwerpen. 😥
Music in this video :
'Morning Sun in Serengeti' - Miniotto
l don't claim any righs.
#zooantwerpen
#lions
Edited by YouCut:youcut.net/BestEditor
Please, read the description for more information.
Moving him is pure ignorance. He has been there all his life. He is getting a little older. He should have been left there with his family the rest of his life. This simply cruel and cannot be justified. I will stop watching. It is my hope that all the people involved in thus decision should lose their families in a tragic and horrible way. It will happen.
@anthonyg2554 It's not because l report about this that l also agree with it, you know. Moving animals between zoos is kind of a trade that could be considered similar to the trade in exotic animals, taken from the wild, in my opinion. People put them in breeding programmes as they see fit, not considering the damage it could bring to the animals involved. And thus it's not a surprise to me that dramas ensue. Nestor was put together with lionesss Maya much too soon and he killed her! Bellewaerde Park opens for the 2024 season on March 30th. Apparently, they wanted to show all the lions together to the public by that time but it was much too early. The lions didn't get the proper time to get acquainted, not with the new environment nor with each other. And now they have learned a horrifying lesson of which Maya became the victim.
I'm glad we could see and hear him when we visited😀😊
O wow! You guys were together?
I'm glad as well! Unfortunately, l won't be able to go visit him without driving by car with some friends. It's too far and takes too much time by train and public transport, all the way to the other side of Belgium. But... who knows! Thank you for your comment, Jennifer! 😀👍
@@leonsdenin yes,Sophie and I visited Carina again in the middle of August 2023😊
Good luck Mr. Handsome make them proud 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you for your comment. Such kind words to say! 😀👍
Hi! I'm glad I read the description (as I always do on your videos) - I thought at first the news was much sadder. So he's going to be moved to another zoo. He will definitely be missed! What a gorgeous, majestic creature. He can definitely be proud of his family. Funny, right while I was watching them grooming, Calista was licking herself. LOL. Thanks for the video!
Hi, Emily! Yeah... l had a doubt about what l would put in the title. That's why l preferred bye-bye instead of goodbye, which sounds harsher, in my opinion. The planned move of Nestor came as a surprise on social media and in newspapers, only a few days before it would take place. Nestor has a fair number of fans, as he's been in the zoo all his life. That creates a certain bond, as you can imagine. There is even a FB page for the zoo created by fans, and l was told it was overflowing with messages! It's sad, but at least the other lions remain at the zoo for now. Whisker is a favourite to me and many others because he's always been such a patient and playful big brother for his younger siblings. My last visit dates from February 9th, and l was surprised to see how much those had grown into young adult lions. And yes, their behaviour is often similar to what we know from our kitty cats! 😉😄😻👍 Thank you for your comment, Emily! 😀👍
@@carinagryp6264I wonder - don't Tasa and the cubs miss him? 🤔
@emilyinoregon6967 l suppose so. Tasa and Nestor were truly a loving couple, as you could witness in the older clips. I added those on purpose to show you. And all of the cubs clearly adored their dad. We can't be sure how much of an impact this will have on the lion family. In the wild, older males are driven away by younger ones, that's how it goes in nature. In fact, it was a bit of an unnatural situation here with Whisker still being around. But he can't mate with his mom or sisters, of course. Is the lion family also affected by this as the gorilla family obviously was? I don't know! It will be interesting to see during a next visit or maybe read about it on the zoo's information pages. Thank you for your question, Emily. I was wondering about it as well. 😀👍
What happened to Nestor?
Hi, Leon! So very happy to get your comment! 😀👍l hope this means you're doing well! Nestor has moved to another zoo, all the way to the other side of Flanders/Belgium. But the fans are glad at least he stays in our country, so visits will be possible. All this is being done to keep the breeding lines healthy, but for Nestor, it was rather stressful because he has lived in Zoo Antwerpen his whole life. Hopefully, it will turn out fine and he will be father of new cubs in future.
No He killed the female lion...
@user-he1ub8oz3b Yes, he did after his move to Bellewaerde Park, only a few weeks ago. It's always a risk when lions are introduced to each other, particularly with older lions like 12 years old Nestor. In my opinion, they decided to get Nestor and Maya together too soon. It should have taken a much longer period of time! Sadly, Maya became the victim of that decision.
Será que ele não vai ficar triste com essa mudança? Acho que não é muito apropriado. Tomara que ele fique bem, isso é o mais importante 🙏
So, no plans to bring in a new male?
No, l guess not. The youngest ones will have to get older some more first and probably move too. To be honest, l will be more sad if Whisker would be going. He's definitely my favourite! There are not so many male lions of this species with good genes available in the breeding programme, apparently. That's why Nestor was moved. They reckoned 6 cubs with Tasa is a sufficiently representative number. Thank you for your comment, Traci! 😀👍