Ranked No. 1 Best College Mascots of 2012, Leo III and Una are the only live lion mascots in the country that live on a college campus.

An average of 200 to 400 visitors come to see the lions at their home in the George H. Carroll Lion Habitat daily, but the lions’ caretaker, Anne Howard, sees them every day from a vantage point that few else have: inside the cage.

Howard remembers a time when 500-pound Leo III and 350-pound Una were not so big and strong.

“My husband and I started out when they were six weeks old; he flew out to New Hampshire to get them,” she said. “They were still on the bottle, so we took them home.

“They slept in a big cage in my living room and they were like babies: asleep two hours and up an hour. When they were awake, I would take them into the kitchen and feed them and play with them.”

After about three months in Howard’s home, Leo III and Una were relocated to the Lion Habitat. Since then, Howard has been at the habitat every day taking care of UNA’s lions.

“Tuesday through Saturday, a gentleman comes and helps me clean,” she said. “We rake the sandbox, clean the playground and bring them in the playground to clean inside. Every area they touch is sanitized.”

The doors to the enclosed outdoor habitat open at around 7:30 a.m. each day, giving Leo III and Una access to the playground until feeding time at 5 p.m., when Howard takes them back inside for the night.

“I spend my mornings cleaning the habitat,” she said. “I spend most of the afternoons giving tours or watching the monitors.”

The entire habitat is under constant surveillance by multiple video cameras.

Howard is very protective of Leo III and Una, as they are of her. She said she is constantly watching the monitors to make sure no one is harassing or teasing Leo III and Una, and asks students for their help as well.

“If you see someone doing something they shouldn’t do, tell them to stop,” she said. “If they don’t, call campus police: that’s what I do. They’re UNA’s lions, everyone has a part of them, so help me by taking care of them.

Having raised them from cubs, Howard said she has a special bond with the lions.

“When they do something they’re not supposed to do and I say stop, they freeze,” she said. “I’ve been with them since they were six weeks old – I’m mommy to them.”

Howard said the cost of caring for the lions is approximately $25,000 per year. Volunteers like Howard do not get paid for their work.

“We rely only on donations to take care of the lions,” she said. “There’s a donation box by the habitat so people can donate.”