Their Majesties will see You Now
Lions have always been very special. They have inspired artists and they represent rulers - from the Egyptian pharaohs to the Venetian Great Dukes (Doges) to today's English queen - always as symbols of power. We even have idioms about lions. In English we talk of "the courage of a lion" and taking the "lion's share.”
Now lions are an endangered species. According to estimates by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 2008 there were 16,000 to 30,000 lions in the wild, with the prognosis that in the next 20 years these numbers could decrease by 30 to 50 percent, especially due to an increase in hunting and agricultural use of the land.
The lions that perform with Alexander and Martin Lacey are not from the wild. Quite the contrary, all Lacey Lions come from their family of animals, and most of them directly from the Lacey breeding program, which can look back on a proud 10 generations now. Although all Lacey Lions are familiar with the people, you should never forget that they are big cats with all the instincts and impulses of their relatives in the wild. They should not be feared, but rather shown great respect.
