Rafiki came to us at seven months old. We received a call from a wildlife facility who had been tasked with finding homes for a group of animals, which included Rafiki, a bear, and a baboon, that were no longer needed in a traveling animal show. The traveling show could no longer care for them due to their nutritional needs and space requirements. We agreed to take in little Rafiki and he stole our hearts immediately.
Rafiki settled in quickly and immediately took full advantage of his large playground. He loved to run around and play with his toys and even splash in his pool. Lions don’t usually love playing in the water like tigers do hence it was a big surprise to us when Rafiki started playing in his pool.
Ever since he was little, Rafiki has had gorgeous, big eyes and big eyelashes that completely captivated everyone who met him. Now, Rafiki is a fully grown and extremely handsome lion. His mane is large and gorgeous and often charmingly unruly. His “bedhead” is legendary and can be truly magnificent! Rafiki has a particular fondness for logs and large branches. He loves to carry them around in his mouth and play with them. His excitement is contagious when he gets a new one to play with!
Around the same time we received a phone call about a second lion. Initially we were told Lambert, the second lion, was the same age and we had hoped to make a ‘pride’ with the two. Unfortunately, Rafiki was much older and bigger in size, intimidating Lambert. We decided it would not be the best fit. Although the boys weren’t able to live together they are neighbors and best friends. Rafiki is a great model for Lambert.
Rafiki’s boisterous songs makes a beautiful addition to the In-Sync lions’ chorus and we feel so lucky to love this sweet and beautiful lion.
