Chessington Zoo had lions from day one of opening, they were successful with breeding here and they featured heavily in the circus. Records show that Reginald Goddard, the owner of Chessington Zoo, commissioned a company in Norwich to build the lion cages, these cages had raised wooden floors which were similar to the wagons that lions were transported in for the circus. As animal welfare standards changed over the years, lions were moved to the location they’re currently in at Trail of the Kings with an open top enclosure, this was revolutionary for Chessington and was very much a rarity in the industry at the time. Pictured above is Habiba, a 10 year old lion with it’s keeper, Hans Brick.