UNA says at least $5M needed to bring live lions back to campus
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Last fall, the University of North Alabama once again began debating whether or not to have live lions on campus, just months after Leo III passed away.
The university created the Special Committee on Live Lions and asked for public input in October.
The committee recently shared its findings with university President Ken Kitts, saying it would cost $5 to $7 million to make the necessary updates for housing live lions on campus again.
“The members of the Special Committee on Live Lions did excellent work on behalf of the University, and I am grateful for the insights they provided. These individuals thoroughly studied the process of returning live lions to campus, and the group’s findings have been shared with the appropriate committee of our Board of Trustees. With that, Vice President Kevin Haslam and his team in Advancement will work over the next two years to determine if donor interest in this project is significant enough to help bring the committee’s vision to life.”
Ken Kitts, University of North Alabama president
The committee studied the viability of returning live lions to the UNA campus, including surveying more than 12,000 stakeholders, speaking with animal experts and visiting other habitats as part of their process.
Live lion mascots at UNA

The committee’s report said that the live lion tradition, which began in 1974, is important to the UNA campus and it should continue.
However, that recommendation comes with several conditions including complete alignment with national standards established by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Those updates would have to include doubling the size of the George H. Carroll Lion Habitat + hiring trained professional to oversee care crew.
The committee said those updates would cost between $5-7 million.
This fall, the fencing around the old habitat will be removed to temporarily create a green space for the campus. However, the habitat could still return to that same location in the future.
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