On November 14, the Littleton High School student council board found out that the school’s beloved adopted lion Poncho has passed away at the Wildlife Sanctuary.
Ms. Prestel was informed by staff at the sanctuary that the lion passed away from feline leukemia over the summer. Poncho was one of the original Bolivian cats that were rescued by the Wildlife Sanctuary. He lived to be around thirteen years old which is a long life, compared to other lions.
While there will be no real memorial service by the school for the lion, Ms. Prestel says she is going to try to get Poncho’s paw prints on a plaque. However, our end-of-day bell will remain the sound of Poncho’s roar, which is a good way to always remember him.
“I think we’ll keep Poncho’s roar,” said Ms. Prestel.
However, our school can’t go without a mascot to represent us. So Ms. Prestel talked to the Wildlife Sanctuary about adopting a new lion for LHS. She came back with three potential lions: Gus, Rio, and Leo II. She gave student council the opportunity to pick our new mascot and they chose Leo II.
Leo is an almost four-year-old cub who has just recently become a part of the Wildlife Sanctuary family. He was one of the lions on the Tiger King show.
“He was saved in 2020 by the Wildlife Sanctuary,” said Ms. Prestel.
Leo lives on the Wildlife Sanctuary acreage and people can go visit and see him anytime.
