Move over, Monty.
Step aside, Twiga.
The lions are here.
As the Santa Barbara Zoo gets ready to welcome back guests next week, visitors can count on reconnecting with Monty, the Humboldt penguin-turned-social media darling, when they reenter the zoo grounds.
They can also look forward to getting an up-close look at Twiga, the giraffe that entered the world while the zoo was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And now, they will be greeted with wildlife royalty in the form of Ralph and Felicia, the zoo’s two new African lions.


“We’re truly excited to safely welcome guests back to the Santa Barbara Zoo,” Rich Block, president and CEO of the Santa Barbara Zoo, said in a news release. “We remain committed to protecting this community and have gone through extensive planning and preparation so that our guests can feel safe and comfortable while visiting.”
Mr. Block acknowledged that while future visits may feel different than before, the new additions “will bring some much-needed smiles to a lot of faces.”
For more, see Thursday’s News-Press.
email: mwhite@newspress.com