ZooBorns

Meet Lion Cubs Mtai and Serafina

Female African lion “Cabara,” age 6, gave birth to four cubs on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2012, at the Saint Louis Zoo. Unfortunately, two of the cubs born did not survive because Cabara was unable to produce milk to feed them. Zoo staff intervened, and the two surviving female cubs are currently being hand-reared by staff in a behind-the-scenes nursery at the Children’s Zoo.

“In the wild, it is not uncommon for lion mothers to rear fewer than fifty percent of the cubs born in a litter,” says Steve Bircher, curator of mammals/carnivores at the Saint Louis Zoo. “The cubs are growing rapidly and appear to be healthy.”

Photo credits: Rachael Macy/Saint Louis Zoo

The cubs’ names are “Mtai” (pronounced Muh-TIE), after a village in Tanzania, and “Serafina,” which means “angel” in African Swahili. At six weeks, they are eating some meat and drinking formula from bottles.

Rotterdam Zoo's Twin Lion Cubs Almost Ready to Explore the Outdoors

On November 13, twin Asian lion cubs were born at Rotterdam Zoo to mom Shantee and dad Kumar.  The two were still unnamed mid-January, when they had the chance for their first vet visit. It was determined on that check up that one is a female and the other is male.

The cubs are still behind the scenes with their mother but can be seen through two live webcams at the zoo. Occasionally they may be out of sight because they have climbed to the residence next door.  Soon the babies will venture out into their habitat at the Zoo under their mother's and keepers watchful eyes, for a little at a time each day, based on weather conditions. 

Photo Credit: Rotterdam Zoo.  Webcam images made possible by Organiq and Amaziq

Lion Cubs Play At Zoo Santa Fe

These three littile lion cubs were born on October 9 at Zoo Santa Fe in Medelin, Colombia. By November 4, they were ready to come out to play and pose for pictures under the watchful eye of their mother. The babies stuck close to her, nursing or trying their best to swat at each other.

Female lions give birth after a 3.5 month gestation. Births of 2-3 cubs are most common but a litter can include 4. Cubs are entiely dependant on their mother for the first six weeks; then they begin to eat meat. They continue to nurse until they are approximately 6 months old, but in the wild, they stay with their mother for up to two years.

Lions are not officially on the endangered list but may be added soon. They are difficult to count, but the African lion's poulation is estimated to have dropped by nearly 50% in the last 30 years, mostly due to the market for lion-skn rugs and trophies. In addition, habitat losss and disease as well as hunting them for bushmeat and use in African medicine has added considerably to the threats. There is also retaliatory killings due to livestock which had been killed by lions. 

 

Photo Credit: Zoo Santa Fe 

Announcing "ZooBorns CATS!": The Newest Edition in the ZooBorns Library!

From the guys who brought you the smash hit ZooBorns: The Newest, Cutest Animals from the World's Zoos and Aquariums, which DiscoverMagazine.com called “hands down the cutest books ever to grace my shelf” comes ZooBorns CATS! The Newest, Cutest Kittens and Cubs from the World's Zoos featuring adorable pictures of newborn felines from accredited zoos and conservation programs around the world. ZooBorns: Cats! is the largest and most complete collection of kittens of different feline species ever published! Every sale of ZooBorns Cats! supports the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conservation Endowment Fund. With the official release on November 1st, you can pre-order ZooBorns CATS! now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Look out for exclusive giveaways and excerpts on our Facebook page in the coming weeks! 

Peek And Pounce! Lion Cub Comes Out to Play

Imani, the St. Louis Zoo’s two-and-a-half-month-old African lion cub, will be exploring a play habitat outdoors. The temporary play space is one of the snow leopard habitats, which is just the right size for a young lion cub that is just beginning to climb and pounce.  

 “It will be a gradual learning experience for Imani as she is introduced to one of the smaller outdoor habitats,” says Steve Bircher, curator of mammals. “When she gets a little older and more comfortable outdoors we plan to introduce her to the lion habitat.” The cub was moved from the veterinary hospital to the area called Big Cat Country several weeks ago. She now weighs 24 pounds, eats two pounds of meat a day, and is doing very well. While still being cared for by her keepers, she is gradually being introduced to her mother Cabara and father Ingozi through mesh or a “howdy gate” behind the scenes. The staff hopes to reintroduce the cub and mother sometime in the future. 

“Imani is a playful and energetic cub who seems to enjoy the company of both her parents as well as the carnivore keepers who have been caring for her over the past couple months,” says Bircher.

Photo Credits: Rachael Macy/St. Louis Zoo

At this time, there is no date set for a public debut in the lion habitat. You can read more about Imani a our previous post HERE.

Who Let the Cubs Out?!

Reid Park Zoo in Tuscon, Arizona is proud to announce the debut of its African Lion Cubs, born July 28th. Mom "Kaya" and her three cubs,  will have access to their exhibit in the mornings (usually until 12:00 or 1:00pm) until further notice. The cubs do get tired, and will rest periodically behind the scenes, so getting to the zoo early is your best bet. African Lions are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan which seeks to manage and conserve a select and typically threatened or endangered species population with the cooperation of accredited zoos and aquariums.

Photo credits: Reid Park Zoo

Check Plus For African Lion Cubs First Check Up

Two little males and one female African lion cubs have just had their first trip to the vet at Milwaukee County Zoo. Born on July 24 and 25, these are the first offspring of mother, Sanura, and father, Themba, both of whom are 8 years old. The boys both weighed 5.2 kg (11.44 pounds) and the girl was 4.75 kg (10.45 pounds). These weights were taken on August 25th, when they were exactly one month old. 

Photo Credit: Michael A. Nepper, Milwaukee County Zoo

Early on, Zookeepers monitored Sanura and her cubs in an area not visible to the public mainly via video feed. They saw that the cubs were nursing, sleeping and showing signs of light activity. 

Twice daily, keepers entered into the off-public area for cleaning and feeding duties and reported that first-time mother Sanura was doing well with her cubs, paying attention to them and remaining calm and relaxed -- even with zookeepers nearby.

 

They are growing rapidly and are doing very well! It is the hope of Zoo staff that by three months of age, the cubs will make their “in person” debut to the public, when the youngsters can consistently shift on and off public exhibit with Sanura. The public can now see the cubs on a special video screen showing in the Florence Mila Borchert Family Big Cat Country. This will mark the first time the Zoo has exhibited lion cubs since 1974.

Three Little Lion Cubs in a Tub

Three African Lion cubs were born to mom Kaya and father Shombay on July 28, at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, AZ. Kaya’s Keeper arrived at work that morning and was surprised to hear them vocalizing!

Mom and the three cubs have been left largely undisturbed so that she can focus on taking good care of them, but vets gave the babies their first medical check this morning. The three cubs (two boys and a girl) seem healthy and strong. They won’t be on exhibit for a while, so they can have the time to bond with their mother and each other before starting to explore their world. 

Photo Credit:Reid Park Zoo

 

Little Lioness Born at St. Louis Zoo

A litter of two African lion cubs was born at the Saint Louis Zoo on July 17. While one of the two females was stillborn, the mother lion, Cabara, age 5, seemed to be interested in caring for her surviving cub. After about six days, however, the little cub appeared dehydrated and so was removed for hand-rearing at the Zoo’s veterinary hospital. As a result she appears to be quite healthy after three weeks of hand-feeding! Her name is Imani, which means “faith” in Swahili

“What happens sometimes with a big cat nursing a single cub is that she doesn’t have enough stimulation for lactation and may not produce enough milk,” according to Steve Bircher, curator of mammals/carnivores at the Saint Louis Zoo. “In the future, we hope that Cabara will give birth to a larger litter and raise them successfully.” Several hours each day, keepers return her to a den next to her mother. The staff hopes to reintroduce the cub and mother sometime in the future. 

Photo Credit: Rachael Macy/Saint Louis Zoo

Monarto Zoo's Brand New Lion Cub Needs a Name!

On May 3rd, Monarto Zoo welcomed a beautiful African Lion cub to its fold. The cub appears healthy and strong and mother, Kiamba, is an excellent caretaker for the new arrival.  Monarto zoo is offering the public the opportunity to name the cub through the auction website eBay. African lions in the wild are in decline as a result of habitat loss, human conflict and disease from domestic animals. Wild populations have gone from nearly 250,00 individuals in the 1960's to less than 20,000 today. Professor Christopher West, CEO of Zoos South Australia said, “We are celebrating the arrival of a single lion cub who will act as an ambassador of its species to people in Australia. We want people to help us secure a future for wild lions in Africa.”

Photo credits: Sunday Mail

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