Touching a Lion - Sue at the Zoo

August 27, 2009

He has the male's majestic mane and tufted tail, and the fur is coarse, more like a large dog, not
soft like a house cat. The tongue is rough, as expected, but so big, as are the teeth, especially
the fangs. The paws are heavy and large in proportion to the body, and the claws extend alarmingly
when I press underneath the toe.

Don't try this at home, boys and girls! This young male lion was anesthetized to sleep through a
routine checkup while being moved into his new home in the Oregon Zoo. One of our neighbors happens
to be a veterinary technician at the zoo who was kind enough to invite me to join another blind
guest, along with our lucky sighted guides, to experience touching a lion.

He is a young male named Zawadi Mungu, meaning "gift of God." Weighing 300 pounds, he is as large as
an adult, but will fill out to close to 500 pounds when fully grown. We learned that all cats,
regardless of size - lions, tigers, or house cats - have the same life expectancy, about 15 to 20
years. Zawadi joins Kya and Neka, two female lions, in the zoo's new exhibit, Predators of the
Serengeti, which opens to the public Sept. 12.

Thank you so much, Margot, for this rare and exciting experience!

Copyright Sue Redding.

See more information about the lions at:
http://www.oregonzoo.org/Newsroom/2009releases/2009Aug.htm#acquisition

"The mountain lion's lesson for me has been one of patience. Even more correctly, it has been a
lesson in the value of uncaptured dreams. For much as I have loved the heart-stopping surprise of
my encounters with bear, with wolf, with coyote, they cannot match the power and purity of my
unrequited desire to see Annie's lion. A dream unrealized, the lion has taught me, is the essential
food of the soul."

"An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he
is in her!"
- Agatha Christie

"Attaining inner simplicity is learning to live happily in the present moment. Keep in mind that
life is a continuous succession of present moments."

Extracted from Spiral Eye September 2009.
The Newsletter of Blind Faith Bodywork.