BROUSSARD — Zoosiana, formerly known as the Zoo of Acadiana, acquired two African lions descended from the iconic MGM Grand lion whose roar is so ubiquitous with American filmmaking.

The zoo’s owner, George Oldenburg, said discovering the 2-and-a-half-year-old lions, Pepe and DJ, were the famous “great-great-great-grandsons” of the MGM lion was a pleasant surprise.

“The license plate on the transport vehicle had ‘MGM’ on it,” said Oldenburg. “I was like, ‘What’s that about?’ I think it’s great. I don’t know how many people can say that who own zoos.”

From an unprecedented litter of six, the brothers are from Keith Evans’ Lion Habitat Ranch in Las Vegas, where they are declawed and trained for entertainment purposes.

“These lions were hand-raised and very social, not-aggressive animals,” said Oldenburg. “In fact, when he (Evans) would go out and show them on exhibit, he would bathe them. We will have to re-establish a bonding with them, but I don’t believe we’ll be giving them baby baths.”

Despite their initial upbringing, Oldenburg said the lions are at Zoosiana for education and exhibition and their caretakers will not treat them “like a circus would.” They will not be trained beyond learning when to enter their night houses, where they eat.

“Exhibit animals are not here for breeding purposes or to be loaned out for movies. We want to provide a safe habitat for them and want them to live out a very long life over here,” he said.

Dr. Thomas Montgomery and family provided the donation necessary for the zoo to purchase the lions — the jungle cat had been absent from the zoo since the death of its two 20-year-old lions, Mary and Willie, two years ago. In preparation for the new attractions, the zoo re-did the lion exhibit area that greets visitors behind the gift shop. The exhibition consists of a fenced-in area with night houses and day caves, a large open top for fresh air and plenty of grass and shade.

“These lions were only on concrete,” said Oldenburg. “So when we first got them stepping onto the earth, the grass and the dirt, it was unfamiliar to them. They were a little skittish about them.”

DJ and Pepe are getting acclimated to their new environment after just half a week at the zoo. Meanwhile, exotic animal handler Madilyn Strickhausen, 22, is getting acquainted with the new “big cats.”

“Basically, we monitor their behavior, kind of get to know their personality,” she said. “Every animal is different just like every dog and cat you would care for at home is different.”

Strickhausen has worked with animals for 10 years and exotic animals for two years. She said she noticed Pepe, who is lighter than his brother, is not as shy as DJ and will come up to her to be petted. Strickhausen and other handlers feed the 480-500 pound lions 12.5 pounds of raw feline-specific beef nightly. She also said they occasionally receive toys, ice blocks, and new scents to break their routines.

“I love working here because it gives me an opportunity to learn the species These animals are ambassadors for their relatives in the wild and it gives me the opportunity to educate people on why they’re important to our world and why they matter in our ecosystem even if they’re not native to Louisiana,” Strickhausen said.

Although the pair appear full-grown at 480-500 pounds, they are slated to continue growing for the next five years. Their manes are just starting to come in.

Although there is no set date, Oldenburg said the zoo will hold a contest for attendees to rename the lions while they are still young and that he is working on socializing with them.