LINCOLN PARK — What do you give Lincoln Park Zoo's king of the beasts for his birthday? How about an African buffalo pinata rubbed with giraffe feces as "the icing on the cake?"
Sahar, the zoo's male lion, celebrated his 7th birthday Friday with a paper-mache African buffalo rubbed with the feces as a "scent enhancement," said Dave Bernier, the zoo's general curator.
"That's going to really stimulate him, not just the visuals, but the smells as well," Bernier said shortly before Sahar was released into his yard Friday morning. "It will sort of put the icing on the cake for him, so to speak."
Sahar could be heard roaring before he came out, as the preparations kept him locked indoors longer than normal. But once he emerged dozens of his most loyal fans serenaded him with a rendition of "Happy Birthday to You."
"He's got groupies," Bernier said.
Sahar replaced the fondly remembered Adelor as the zoo's king of the beasts five years ago. While he was a bit of a pup with little more than a chin beard of a mane when he arrived in Chicago, "He's really developed into a much bigger animal. He's really robust," Bernier said.
"He's really grown into a pretty impressive-looking male."
Actually, it didn't take Sahar long to tip thw buffalo over and — giraffe feces or not — lose interest in it after he prodded at the paper-mache carcass and found no meat inside.
Happy birthday, Sahar! King of the @lincolnparkzoo beasts prods at a paper-mache water buffalo he was given today by zookeepers. pic.twitter.com/uxfgzNoxqr
— Ted Cox (@tedcoxchicago) January 27, 2017
Then he ambled over to check out the crowd of people who'd been singing to him, before taking another couple of unproductive prods at the buffalo and settling down on the warmed rocks in front of the exhibit's viewing window.
"They seem pretty curious about the people sometimes too," Bernier said. "They pay attention to what goes on on the other side of the window."
Sahar had the outdoors to himself for his birthday, at least in the morning, as the two lionesses the zoo added in 2015, Zalika and Kamali, were kept indoors.
