Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens may have the giant panda cub Xiang Xiang to adore, but a zoo in Okinawa has its own critters to be crazy about: lions.
As of Dec. 24, visitors to Okinawa Zoo & Museum in fiscal 2017, which started in April, totaled 355,932, marking a record high since the park's renovation over a decade ago. The zoo has attributed the rise in visitors to the popularity of two lions, particularly a 14-month-old white male cub named Seramu.
Thanks to the presence of Seramu and Arusha, another male lion, visitor numbers rose by 25,043 from the previous record of 330,889 posted during the same period in fiscal 2015.
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