As the dominant male of the group of three tawny lions at the zoo, Snoopy feels the need to display some macho posturing and a degree of aggression both towards his twin brother Charlie Brown and his keepers at times. If Charlie pinches his grub or a plaything, Snoopy will respond with an impressive attack which is nevertheless mostly play and bluster. Underneath he is really quite a soft-hearted fellow and interestingly will back down on the rare occasions that subordinate male Charlie says 'enough’ after Snoopy has pushed his luck too far with him. The boys can often be seen curled up together or grooming each other, confirming their solid relationship.
Generally the pair, who were hand-raised together, get on fine so long as each knows their place and boundaries are adhered to. For this reason, the keepers always observe the hierarchy so as not to cause trouble in the relationship, and Snoopy usually enjoys first dibs at enrichment activities or any affection that is handed out. Snoopy is happy taking the lead and is generally the brighter lion, being quicker to work out feeding puzzles and activities set out by the keepers. For instance, Snoopy has been known to swing on a drum-shaped feeder in the enclosure with all four paws off the ground trying to get at the meat inside, whereas Charlie would typically be far more cautious.
Snoopy loves the safari-style Land Rover in the boys’ enclosure, and basically thinks he owns it, often soaking up the sun in prime position on the roof; he has also been known to 'play’ the bonnet like a set of African drums!
Snoopy definitely knows he is the boss lion, and his appearance compared to his brother confirms this, with his impressive blonde mane and the 'cleaner’ lines of his proud facial features. A good way to tell the boys apart is that Snoopy has the lighter mane and a much bigger tail-tip than Charlie.
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