DCentric

Smithsonian's National Zoo

This cub is a half-sibling to the three newest arrivals.

We posted about baby lions three weeks ago– and now there are even more! I can’t wait until “late fall or early winter”; that’s when the cubs go public at our lovely, free zoo.

The birth of three more lion cubs at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo this morning has contributed to the growth of the Zoo’s lion pride over the past three weeks and has brought the total number of cubs to seven so far. The Zoo’s six-year-old lion Nababiep gave birth to the three newest cubs three weeks after her sister, five-year-old Shera, gave birth to four cubs.

This news is extra nice; Nababiep is the lion who gave birth to a cub last May, only to have it die of pneumonia two days later, after a bit of straw lodged in its lung. The Zoo investigated alternative bedding alternatives after the incident. It’s nice to know that the fuzzy baby lion pictured above is sleeping safely– near three new playmates, as of today.

Smithsonian

The National Zoo's Shera, after giving birth.

Huzzah! There are new baby animals at the National Zoo. Last night, four lion cubs were born to first-time mother Shera. They arrived between 10:30 pm and 2:30 am.

This is especially wonderful for the Zoo and its fans because of the tragic loss of the last lion cub which was born there in May– who shared a father, Luke, with the current babies. Born to Shera’s sister, Nababiep, the single cub died after just 48 hours when a straw awn from its bedding became lodged in his lung. The Zoo has instituted changes, since then:

“Since the unfortunate death of Naba’s cub, we’ve investigated various alternative bedding options,” said Rebecca Stites, a lion and tiger keeper. “The use of bedding is imperative as it protects the cubs from trauma during the first fragile weeks of their lives. We’ve provided Shera and her cubs with shavings and soft hay with as few awns as possible.”

Good to know. The Zoo says the cubs will be visible to the public by late Fall. For those of us still suffering from Tai-Shan withdrawal, this news is delightful.