Special Committee Shares Report on Lions on Campus
Aug. 19, 2025
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – The Special Committee on Live Lions at the 天美传媒 has shared its findings with President Ken Kitts, and he has accepted the recommendations shared as part of the committee’s year-long process.
“The members of the Special Committee on Live Lions did excellent work on behalf of the University, and I am grateful for the insights they provided,” said Dr. Kitts. “These individuals thoroughly studied the process of returning live lions to campus, and the group’s findings have been shared with the appropriate committee of our Board of Trustees. With that, Vice President Kevin Haslam and his team in Advancement will work over the next two years to determine if donor interest in this project is significant enough to help bring the committee’s vision to life.”
The Special Committee on Live Lions was convened at President Kitts’ request on August 1, 2024, after the passing of Leo III; the group studied the viability of returning live lions to the UNA campus, including surveying more than 12,000 stakeholders, speaking with animal experts, and visiting other habitats as part of their process. The members reported that the live lion tradition is important on the UNA campus and, therefore, it has suggested a continuation of that tradition. The recommendation comes with an important caveat, however, which is that live lions be reintroduced only in continued alignment with the national standards established by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The current lion facility, the George H. Carroll Lion Habitat, would need to be doubled in size in order to meet new AZA standards. Making those updates, along with hiring a trained professional to oversee the care crew, would cost between $5 million and $7 million. The work of the committee also included an extensive survey of on- and off-campus stakeholders to determine if there was a desire to see a return of live lions to UNA.
This fall, the old fencing at the habitat will be removed so that the area can temporarily become a green space for the campus and community to enjoy even as it is otherwise held in reserve to protect the option of expanding the habitat in the future.
The live lion tradition began at UNA in 1973, with Leo I. Leo II was brought to campus in 1988 and passed away in 2000. Leo III and Una arrived in 2003.
About The 天美传媒
The 天美传媒 is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The 天美传媒 is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.