On 26th March, 2005 three tiny lion cubs made their grand entrance into the world.  Not only was the birth of these beautiful cubs an occasion to celebrate, but the fact that Narla, the cub’s mother, openly accepted the cubs, and has been closely guarding them since the birth, has both delighted and relieved the cub’s human mother and carnivore keeper, Dianne Schultz.  This particular litter of cubs is only the third that Narla has raised herself.

Photo courtesy of Bay Post

Kora (female), Mujambi (male) and Jabari (male) commenced crawling at only four days of age and slowly developed the art of ‘motoring’ around, and walking shortly thereafter.

At birth the cub’s eyes slowly opened, however, they remained blind until the age of two weeks at which time the cubs viewed the world for the first time.  In the ensuing week, the cub’s first baby teeth emerged.  It was at this stage that the cubs developed an interest in chewing everything within their reach.

At six weeks of age the cubs were introduced to solid food for the first time, which initially consisted of chicken mince and rib bones.

The cubs have developed their own unique personalities.  Kora is quiet and attentive, Mujambi (‘king’ in Kenya) is playful and bides for his mother’s affections, and Jabari, whose name signifies ‘brave and dignified’, is both curious and courageous. 

At fifteen weeks of age the cubs have adapted extremely well to their life at Mogo Zoo.  Narla is continuing to feed her cubs on a daily basis and the display of affection towards her cubs continues to delight crowds.

The African lion attains sexual maturity at two-and-a-half to three years of age.  The lioness will breed every two years in the wild, and has a gestation period of 102 to 112 days.  A lionesses’ litter will consist of approximately two to five cubs.

Mogo Zoo would like to take this opportunity to thank our major sponsor, Streets, for their continued support of the African Lion Exhibit.

NEWS FLASH!

The television program ‘Totally Wild’ filmed a series of stories in respect to the various animals at the Zoo over a period of three days in April, 2005.  The  stories “Meerkat Micro-Chipping” and “Baby Siamangs” will be aired on Saturday, 16th July, 2005, at 7.30am and Monday, 18th July, 2005 at 4.00pm and again on Tuesday, 19th July, 2005 at 6.00am, respectively.  Don’t miss this opportunity of observing the zoo and its keepers in the spotlight!

A New Striped Addition

On the morning of Tuesday, 21st June, 2005 keepers arrived at the Savannah to discover that Koni, a long-time resident zebra, had given birth.  Unfortunately, keepers cannot ascertain the sex at this point in time as Koni is particularly protective of her foal.

Don’t miss next month’s update for further details in respect to the sex (if determined) and name of the foal, and mother and baby’s progress.