Quick Lion Cub Update
Posted at 10:49 am November 16, 2007 by Marcia ReddingToday was a special occasion - the seven (yes, all seven!) lion cubs were briefly handled for the first time (see Marcia’s previous blog, Baby Boom at Lion Camp!!). Both moms, Oshana and Mina, were given a yummy treat in the rooms next to their maternity dens while the cubs were quickly and quietly checked out. Oddly, Oshana was more relaxed about this than Mina, which is exactly opposite of their last litters. This time, Mina was the one that anxiously inspected her three when reunited with them; Oshana was pretty relaxed about the whole thing.
We are proud to announce that Oshana has two males and two females; Mina has one male and two females. An excellent ratio! Now that we know the sexes, we have to start thinking about names! What a happy task!
Marcia Redding is a senior keeper at the Wild Animal Park.
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November 16th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Marcia, thanks for the great news. Maybe Oshana has already figured out that she might as well mellow out with 4 young mouths to feed. She knows that Mina also has three cubs, and that the pride has suddenly “exploded.” She will need to be more relaxed this time around to keep up with all of her cubs. I hope Izu is enjoying his time with the boys, because soon enough, his services as #1 Daddy will be greatly needed. Will the “boys” ever get to see the cubs, or are they too big and therefore too much of a threat? Maybe Oshana is feeling more relaxed the second time around. Who was Mandisa’s mom? If it was Oshana, could that have something to do with her nervousness? Maybe she sensed something was very wrong with her cub??
November 16th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Thank you for the update, Marcia. I am glad to hear that all of the cubs appear to be happy and healthy. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to learning the names of the newest members of the pride.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Ohhh how exciting for you all !!! Thank you Marcia for the update !!
November 16th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
How can we see photos (or a podcast with pix) of the new cubs? I’m sure they are just adorable.
Moderator’s note: We’ll post images/video as soon as they are made available.
November 16th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Wowee! A herd of healthy li’l munchkins!!
So exciting…thanks for the update!
November 16th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Margaret. Mandisa was Mina’s Cub.
Thak’s Marcia for the update. I’m glad to hear we have 3 boys and 4 girls to add to our pride. Can’t wait to see pictures. How old do the cubs have to be when the first meet IZU? Has IZU been able to see his cubs yet? Oshana and Mina are going to be very busy for the next year!!! Please Quickly update us when you have names/pictures!!!!
November 16th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Thanks for the update on our precious cubs. Glad to hear they are all healthy and doing well, and how exciting 3 boys and 4 girls I can’t wait to see them. Also glad to hear Oshana and Mina are doing well and letting you handle the cubs to check them out, I know that is an important part of raising the cubs and getting all of their trust. Good luck with all the cubs.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Congratulations Marcia! I know all of the lion camp as well as the HOA keepers love lion cubs!! Any ideas of where they will go once they are adults?
November 17th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
How about Greg, Peter, Bobby, Marcia, Jan, Cindy, and Alice? Just kidding!
November 17th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
How wonderful to have more cubbies!! Can anyone let us know how soon they will be on exhibit? I came to see those beautiful lions and cubs every Saturday for months so I’m eager to see this batch. How will the current exhibit be able to house them all? Will the teenagers be able to “blend” with them? I’m hoping and praying that all are healthy. My heart ached when Mena’s daughter died a while back.
Will wait to hear from you.
November 18th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for the nice comments, everybody. Margaret, Kamau and Zenda are a bit too old for the moms to want them around the cubs; Izu has also been less tolerant of them lately, so they only hang out with each other at this point. They seem to be perfectly OK with this arrangement.
Caitie, while it’s a bit early to start thinking about where they’ll go as adults, I understand that there is a list of zoos that would love to have them due to their under-represented genes. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble when the time comes!
Deb, most likely it will be around 8 weeks before the cubs can explore the exhibit. I’ll keep everyone posted on their progress!
November 19th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
WOW!!! Three boys and 4 girls!! That will be a pretty active bunch of lion cubs once they really get their legs going and start chasing each other! Oh yeah, thinking of 3 boys names and 4 girls names will be a really fun job for you all! You didn’t get a chance to mention how much they all weighed, tho. I was wondering how much they’ve grown in the last couple of weeks or so. Maybe you can give us those answers when you get the info from the vets. Looking forward to reading some more about these cubs and what their new names will be! Keep us posted!!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
November 27th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Marcia, do you think Izu’s “lack of tolerance” of the boys lately could be due to the fact that he knows there are 7 new cubs that he will soon be taking care of? Maybe his instincts tell him it is time to separate from the boys, like their mothers have, and get some well deserved “alone” time in preparation for the chaos that will be coming very soon when the new cubs meet their “Dad.” After all, he was nominated by his fans for “Dad of the year” for how he helped raise the last two litters of cubs.
November 30th, 2007 at 1:09 am
Izu hasn’t been on exhibit with his sons for months. They are starting to grow their manes so they almost mature. Mature male lions will sometimes share a pride but it depends on the number of females… more females means more cubs to guard, which might require help from another male. With only two females, Izu probably wants them all to himself.
December 2nd, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Thanks for your quick reply. Will wait to hear when those precious lions and cubs are out on exhibit. Looking forward to learning their names too. How exciting that we’re all able to enjoy those beautiful critters! And, now we’ve even got another new baby elephant! How great is that?