Lions - Where Elephants Once Roamed

Photo: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Oakland Zoo: Savanna to California Trail, a free self-guided tour.

From the lion viewpoint, scan the grass and rocks for a resting lion. Lions are the only cats that live in family groups, called prides, and they can sleep or rest for up to 20 hours a day, so a lazy lion is a normal lion.

This savanna was also home to African elephants for 75 years. The zoo became known for a protected contact style of elephant care, in which keepers work with elephants through a barrier rather than sharing their space and use rewards instead of punishment. In 2023 and 2024 it moved its last two elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, where they could live with larger groups of their own kind, and it now supports elephant conservation in the wild.

Nearby, the zoo's camels rest on the hillside, and the Sky Ride passes overhead.

Getting here: Walk a short way uphill from the giraffes to the lion viewpoint.

Did you know?: A lion's roar can carry about five miles across open country.

Photo op: If a lion is lying in the grass, use the viewpoint rail to steady your phone and zoom in on its face.

For kids: Lions in a pride share babysitting. Lionesses often raise their cubs together.

Nearby: A cafe and restrooms are near the lower gondola station, just ahead.

More on Wikipedia: Lion · The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee · African bush elephant

Lions - Where Elephants Once Roamed

Stops on this tour