Meet the African lions moving into the Great Plains Zoo

Two lions are the latest residents at The Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House & Aquarium.

Fifteen-year-old Simba moved from Detroit, where he sired one cub. He was originally from Qatar.

Amahle, who is 10, arrived from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C.

“Zookeepers describe her as very playful, enjoying carrying and batting around barrels and balls,” the zoo said in a statement.

Each lion was recommended by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Lion Species Survival Plan program to come to the zoo, due to their genetic diversity and other factors.

The lions will take the next month to acclimate to each other, their surroundings and their care team. Their new exhibit opens June 28, offering enough space for a pride of lions with indoor-outdoor public viewing opportunities.

It includes two indoor viewing spaces, a training window, and a kopje rock viewing area, in addition to multiple outdoor yards for the lions.

The structure also includes a habitat for a meerkat mob, which will arrive in Sioux Falls soon from another AZA partner zoo. The zoo’s current meerkat pair, Biff and Clementine, will remain in their exhibit in the giraffe building for the foreseeable future.

Zoo splash pad opens this week