First Glimpses

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Posted by Sara Blackburn at 7:30 PM

Over the past few days we’ve been lucky enough to have some snippet views of the new cubs. They’re tiny! When they’re born, lion cubs weigh less than 1% of their mother’s body weight.


hidden

These cubs are really well hidden – well done mum!


tiny cub

What a cutie!


Silver has hidden her babies deep inside a lugga, away from the pride. Lilly has also been hiding her cubs, but has been seen moving them to new locations. Both the elements and animals such as buffalo and hyena pose a threat to new cubs - moving them regularly prevents them from being detected.


lilly's cubs Lilly’s two babies stay close to mum


cub2

These little ones already have a sense of adventure


Yesterday was a special day for the cubs as they were introduced to the pride and to each other. This time, Caesar looked relaxed whilst Lilly brought her two little ones over to meet her pride mates. Later in the day, five cubs were seen together. They’re about two and a half weeks old and still a bit wobbly, and so are still carried by their mums.


emcarry Cubs are carried for a few weeks until they can keep up with mum


We’ll have to keep a close eye on the cubs over the next few weeks. Lion cubs are most at risk during this fragile time – fewer than 20% of cubs make it to adulthood. These lionesses have just successfully raised 7 cubs to bouncy 2 year olds though, so six shouldn’t be a problem!

Sara