Lion Cubs Grow by the Minute!
Posted at 12:24 pm July 2, 2008 by Kym Nelson
Nyack
I know that I have said this repeatedly, but the lion cubs are growing like weeds! (Read Kym’s previous blog, Lion Cubs are Growing Fast!) If you have been out to visit Lion Camp at the Wild Animal Park recently, I am sure you have noticed that our cute, (not-so) cuddly cubs are growing bigger by the minute, it seems.
All of the cubs now weigh over 100 pounds (45 kilograms), with Zawadi, our largest male, weighing in at an astonishing 132 pounds (60 kilograms)! Even though he now weighs more than some of his keepers, I still look at him and can’t help but see that cute ” little cub.” Yet it really gives perspective into how muscular these lions are.
Nyack
Although the cubs are still sporting an identifying shaved patch of fur, it is getting much easier to tell them apart; I suspect we won’t need to shave them for much longer. Guests always ask how we tell the lions apart. This is a good question, but not one I can give an easy answer to. Some of the cubs are easy: Sarabi, for instance, is much darker than all of her siblings. But for others, I liken it to identical twins: if you have ever known a set of identical twins, I am sure you can relate! When you first met, you hoped they would be dressed differently so you could tell them apart, but as you got to know them, it became easier to tell who’s who even if they were in the same outfit.
Ingozi
We are making progress with the cubs’ training, and more often than not the cubs are doing what they are told. We are still working on a timely return to the ” house” at the end of the day, and with a few exceptions, they are all falling into the routine. Our first training step is still getting them to know their names. All have adjusted well to their meat diet and are now receiving five pounds (2.3 kilograms) each day! Nursing has been steadily decreasing, which I am sure must be wonderful for their poor mothers. I sure wouldn’t want a 132-pound baby with huge teeth trying to nurse! In the wild, lion cubs would be weaned at six to eight months of age, and the eight-month mark is fast approaching.
Nyack
Nyack, our hand raised cub, is doing great. (Read Kym’s blog, New Cub Joins Lion Camp Pride.) Even though he is a month younger than his playmates, you would never be able to tell. He is not the smallest and gets along with all seven cubs. He is becoming quite the little lion and making all of his human ” moms’ very happy. He made the transition to a protected contact environment (meaning we no longer share the same space with him) like a champ but still is the only cub to actually come up to the fence without being coaxed with food. He likes to be near his ” moms,” but more and more he might just rather stay with the group.
Kamau, our only remaining lion from Mina’s first litter, is becoming quite the adult male lion! His mane is filling in nicely and he is now bigger than both females but still has a way to go before reaching his full size. Kamau is still waiting for his new home in Sacramento to be ready, and right now spends most every evening on exhibit.
Ingozi
Many guests are already looking to the future and are asking when our lions will breed again. While we are very fortunate to have had such great breeding success and as much as these cubs are a joy to us, the keepers, and to all of our guests, we will be giving Mina and Oshana a break from motherhood after this litter is grown. Following the Species Survival Plan’s recommendations, and due to our breeding success, we have implanted the females with a contraceptive device to prevent any pregnancies in the short term. This allows us to keep our pride intact and allows Izu to stay with his family until we can make an informed decision on whom and when we will breed any future females.
Kym Nelson is a senior keeper at the Wild Animal Park.
Watch video of the lion cubs…
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July 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
i am so excited. i live in sacramento and look forward to seeing him up close and personal.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Thanks for the update, Kym! It is wonderful to hear that the cubs are growing fast and thriving in the pride. I love the snarl (or yawn) on Ingozi’s face!
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 am
kym, what a bunch of cuties, I can’t believe how much they have grown, how proud you must be. Nyack always will hold a special place in my heart because of the difficulties he endured in the begining.Ingozi the little tough one trying to be so scary in the photo To all the keepers and ” Moms” who take care of the little ones, thank you for making a healthy, happy family group.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:21 am
Thank you Kym for a detailed update on all the cubs. Happy to hear all is well, and everyone is growing and learning, and adapting quite nicely to any and all changes. I hope to be able to come see them soon.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Thank you for sharing!!! I grew up in S.D. I now live in Northern Mi. and really miss the SDZoo.Thanks for keeping me uptodate on what’s goin on!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Kym, Thanks for keeping us posted on the development of these darling babies as they are rapidly growing into such beautiful full grown lions. Many thanks to all of you keepers for taking such good care of them. We wish they could all be able to live at our wonderful Wild Animal Park but know they must move on to be able to be mated to others so we might always be able to keep these beautiful creatures around.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Nyack has such a sweet face! He’s just adorable, as they all are.
Question for Kym: Has Izu been reunited with his family, and are they all (the 7 cubs, 2 mothers and Izu), on exhibit together in the afternoons? It’s so very very special to see the family all together – such a beautiful pride!!
You’re so fortunate to get to work with them.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
It’s great to b able 2 see them growing right b4 our eyes…almost like being there…thanks Kym!!! Keep up the good work along w/ all the ‘moms’ taking care of them…I can hardly wait to c them in person!!! Hope u all have a great 4th of July!!! God Bless America & our troops!!! HUGZ…
July 5th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Gorgeous!
July 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Thanks Kym for the regular lion cub weight updates! I have rarely seen such detailed and interesting growth information about lions on other sites so keep up the great work – I’m sure lots of people are as fascinated about lion growth rates as me!
I know that Zawadi now weighs 132 pounds but can you give me the other 7 cubs’ weights rather than just an overall ” over 100 pounds” figure for them? Also, have you ever recorded the shoulder heights of the cubs or any of the adult lions? I assume that the young male Zenda has left the Wild Animal Park now as you said Kamau is the only remaining lion from Mina’s first litter. Where was Zenda sent to?
By the way, thanks for replying to my comment on your previous post ” Lion Cubs Are Growing Fast” , with all the size data – I was surprised and delighted to receive so much information as I didn’t really expect a reply, knowing you must be so busy!
July 5th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Are u guys keeping the 8 cubs or are they going to other homes like previous litters born at the zoo????
July 5th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
This will be my first timr at the zoo, Im so excited to be able to come see. Ive been watching the panda cam and the polar cam, knowing their names has been fun to.
Thank you for your news letter, I always look forward to getting it. Thanks marlene from Seattle
July 7th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Absolutely stunning photos — and they definitely show very different personalities. What a joy to read — thanks so much for the updates. Guess it’s time to venture to the Wild Animal Park and visit the ” kids” again — before they get much bigger. What a treat!!
July 7th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Thanks Kym for the updates, and the fabulous photos. The cubs sure are growing well. Especially glad to hear that Nyack is doing so well, and is not the smallest of the cubs. How long before the cubs will be completely separated from the parents so that they can be with Nyack 24 x 7? Since he no longer has one on one contact with the keepers, and his human ” moms” I imagine he relishes the contact with his ” siblings.”
Do you notice any reaction from Oshana and Mina after their cubs have been playing with Nyack?
July 7th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Thx for the update and the pics caught some great expressions!! The S. D. Zoo is a beautiful peaceful place to visit. I’ve been fortunate to have seen cubs as well as white ones in another zoo. Your kids are GR-R-R-EAT !!
July 7th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Lion Camp is actually at the San Diego Wild Animal Park — not the San Diego Zoo (maybe 45 minutes North of the zoo) — but if you love the SD Zoo — you’ll love the WAP — it’s like being in another country — very exotic — very open and beautiful.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Hi! Great update about the lion cubs! Got a question for you, tho. These cubs are nearly 8 months old, so are all of them still at WAP or have some of them gone to new places? You left out a few of them in your update. Loved the pics, especially the one pic of Ingozi doing that squinch of her nose when she opens her mouth and ” smiles” ! The one pic of Nyack was a very good one, and that pic you could take and enlarge for a very nice wall picture. He’s just sitting there so nice like you asked him to do that even tho he did that himself. Sad to hear that you are giving Oshana and Mina a break from having cubs for awhile. Oh well, they do deserve the break after raising a lot of kids over the last couple of years or so! Hope Izu will behave himself with the girls! Have fun with the cubs!
Gonna go!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
July 14th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Can you tell me how much each of the 7 lion cubs weighs now? In your latest blog you said they’re all over 100 pounds and that Zawadi is 132 pounds but I’d like to have figures for the other 6 cubs too!
July 19th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I heard somewhere that 2 of the lion cubs were sent to john ball park zoo in grand rapids michigan.
is this true? if so, I’ll have to make a trip there as we live only an hour from there. would love to see
them so close to home. I wish we had gorillas and pandas by us! oh well, I guess you can’t have
everything. I love big zoos that seem to have everything! thanks for sharing your zoo with us!!!
Moderator’s note: Yes, our females Abena and Bakari now reside at the John Ball Zoo. Let us know how they’re doing when you go visit them!
July 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
There is an extraordinary video clip on youtube, which has caused quite a sensation. Search for ” Christian the lionâ€. It is about two young Australian men bought a lion cub in ” exotic animal†shop in London in the late 60s. They raised him and reintroduced him back to the wild in his native Africa, with the help of George Anderson (husband of Joy Anderson, author of Born Free) as well as the actor and actress who played George and Joy in the movie Born Free. A few years later, they paid one last visit to the lion cub they raised, named Christian, who was the head of a pride by then and totally wild. Lions have long memories as I learnt from several sources. Christian recoginized his old carers and ran full speed to those two young men. You should see the happniess of both the lion and men when they were hugging and crying at the same time of the sight of each other. Christian also brought one of the lionesses of his pride to meet his human family. It is amazing that pure love could exist between man and lion. It proves once again animals are a lot more intelligent than most people think and they are capable of returning the love shown to them.
I posted this at Giant panda blog. This is for big cat lovers.
MSN also has a moving article of the background of this lion and men reunion
today(dot)msnbc(dot)msn(dot)com slash id slash 25797678 slash ?GT1=43001
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Kym,
When the weather is a tad cooler, I want to actually come visit with Nyack. Although we live nearby I’ll bring with me my grandson Sacramento grandson Nyack. At three years of age he is really excited to meet someone who shares his name. I am forwarding your current report and all the blog comments to his mom tonight. Thank you for the updates.
October 4th, 2008 at 5:57 am
he is so cute
November 22nd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
he is so cute!!!! i love those cubs