Lions at Chicago zoo getting a new $15 million home

CHICAGO (AP) - The lions at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo are getting some new digs worthy of the kings of the jungle.

Thanks to a $15 million donation, the zoo will be able to begin a gut rehab of its central Kovler Lion House. According to the Chicago Tribune, the new lion house - the last phase of a decade-long zoo renovation project - was announced by the zoo this week.

The new home for the lions will be named the Pepper Family Wildlife Center, in honor of the Richard and Roxelyn Pepper, who donated the money.

Zoo officials say the lions will appreciate their new living quarters, which will include a zipline to make food delivery a more enjoyable experience for the lions and better holding spaces that officials will be more conducive to breeding.

The renovation of the lion house is the final phase of the zoo’s $135 million Pride of Chicago capital campaign that has resulted in new homes for polar bears, penguins and macaques.

Construction of the new lion exhibit is expected to take 18 to 22 months.