The Lair is an exotic animal exhibit at the Dreamworld

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, Australia. It opened on 9 April 2011 with two

white lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...

s. The exhibit is to be used for a variety of other animals in the future.

History

On 16 February 2011, Ardent Leisure (the owners of Dreamworld) released their half year results report for the 2011 financial year. The report detailed an outlook for their 30th Birthday year. One of the items listed was an

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

holiday promotion where an exotic animal species will be showcased. Two weeks prior, the

Gold Coast Bulletin The ''Gold Coast Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper serving Australia's Gold Coast region. It is published as ''The Gold Coast Bulletin'' on weekdays and the ''Weekend Bulletin'' at weekends. It is owned by News Corp Australia. History The ...

detailed the rumours of white lions coming to Dreamworld. On 21 February 2011, Dreamworld officially announced via

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that white lions would be at Dreamworld for the April school holidays. On 16 March 2011, plans for The Lair were released by Dreamworld. On 9 April 2011, the attraction was officially opened to the public with two white lions.

Exhibit

The Lair is themed to the Timbavati region in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The interactive exhibit features triple laminated glass panels which allow guests to view the animals up close. The exhibit also features a second storey. This level features a glass-walled platform where trainers and paying guests can feed the animals.

Inhabitants

White lions

In April 2011 Dreamworld began a promotion where

s were on temporary exhibition from

National Zoo & Aquarium The National Zoo and Aquarium is a privately owned zoo and aquarium in the Australian capital city of Canberra. It is located in Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory, Yarralumla at the western end of Lake Burley Griffin, next to Scrivener D ...

which was renovating its facilities. On 30 March 2011, two lions, Jake and Mischka, were introduced into The Lair. The exhibit housed these two lions on public display from 9 April through to 9 May. A second pair of lions, Archilles and Agamemnon, were featured in the exhibit from 16 May until 7 August 2011.

Tigers

On September 7, 2011, a new feeding experience with Dreamworld's existing

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and Sumatran tigers began at the park. Tigers from

Tiger Island El Tigre is an island located in the Gulf of Fonseca, a body of water on the Pacific coast of Central America. The island is a conical basaltic stratovolcano and the southernmost volcano in Honduras. It belongs to Valle department. Together ...

can be seen in The Lair. For a set fee, guests can tong-feed the tigers.

References

External links

The Lair on the official Dreamworld website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lair, The Amusement rides introduced in 2011 Dreamworld (Australia) 2011 establishments in Australia