Project Hermaphroditus was gaining quite a bit of notoriety now, though thankfully it was mostly the positive kind. Apparently there were some people who were transsexual and/or bisexual who were interested in becoming functional hermaphrodites. Those who were applying to Project Hermaphroditus were usually choosing one of the two species that were currently a part of the project. It was not hard to see why as both mare and stallion Animalians were considered among the hottest that Animalia had to offer. And hyenas had a history of being seen as hermaphrodites anyways. Though there weren't any people who were wanting to become herm anacondas. That was most likely because the near-horror story of Ty, Lily, Iphis, and Ianthe's unbearably long pregnancy was pretty well-known. Not that people wouldn't want to be herm snakes, but they absolutely insisted they'd be the kind that laid eggs instead of giving live birth.
In order to determine which species would be the next to be part of Project Hermaphroditus, a tally was taken of the many requests. They were a lot to sort through, but a pattern soon emerged. After horses and hyenas, the most commonly requested species for hermification was the lion. It did make sense. Lion were the only big cats (if not only species of cat) that had a very distinctive and recognizable sexual dimorphism. Not to mention lion Animalians were considered popular and very attractive, doubtlessly aided by the success of Maelewano's Lion King.
Fortunately, finding a lion to make into a hermaphrodite was hardly difficult. There were many male lions kept in captivity who have been neutered. Uplifting one such lion with the hermaphrodite strain would be very simple. The lion eventually chosen for the project was one named Cameron. He had been a zoo lion but had gotten very disagreeable towards his keepers. He was becoming increasingly aggressive and not letting any humans near. Since his aggression were based in his testosterone, the zookeepers had him neutered. Cameron mellowed considerably after that, though it also caused his mane to fall out. There were plenty of people who missed Cameron's spirit and mane, so they donated the neutered lion to Horizon Labs to take part of the project.
A lottery was also done for people who volunteered for Project Hermaphroditus to become herm lions, to determine who'll be the first converted for free. The winner was a young woman named Petra, who identified a lot more with men than women. She was also bisexual but also leaned more towards an interest in men. Though she had been selected at random from the many people who volunteered, she did appear to be an ideal candidate.
The uplifting and conversion of Cameron was a rather big success. The pair of them made rather splendid lions. At first glance, one might assume they were both males because of their big thick manes and large muscles. But there was also their curvy feminine bodies that couldn't escape notice, particularly their larger breasts. Cameron and Petra also seemed to be rather attracted to each other, though it was a little early to see if they were mates. But starting with them, a new pride of lions will soon be joining Animalia. There wasn't any discouragement from Aslan's pride, but it didn't seem likely for the two prides to interbreed much. Which suited the soon-to-be herms just fine anyways.