Lion? Might he have been acquainted with a boy named Eagle? [D had met him during the egg hunt.] But if her brother was simply Lion, perhaps she is Lioness.

[And D's quite used to all kinds of animals so the idea of petting a lion isn't strange to him at all.]

That is a good point. A lion's natural habitat is typically in the tropical regions of the world. We can likely presume she wouldn't be used to cold temperatures. Was she here during last winter?