New Lions In Town - Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo

 

SEATTLE-Woodland Park Zoo is bursting with pride as it announces the birth of two South African lions-the first birth of lions at the zoo since 2014!   The zoo's animal health team did a quick health assessment of the cubs and determined both cubs are female.  The cubs were born Wednesday, January 14 to first-time parents, mom Ilanga (ee-LONG-uh) and dad Tandie. Mom and cubs are currently living in the off-view maternity den where the new family can bond in comfortable, quiet surroundings. The father remains separated from the cubs and mother until the cubs are older.  According to Martin Ramirez, Curator of Mammalogy at Woodland Park Zoo, the average litter size for lions is two to three, so this is a typical litter. "As a first-time mother, Ilanga so far is doing a terrific job and is resting and bonding with the cubs. Our animal care staff will be monitoring both mom and cubs closely for signs of normal behavior and development over the next several weeks."

Lion cubs typically weigh 2.2 to 3.5 pounds at birth. They are born blind and open their eyes within a week or two after birth. Zoo veterinarians will perform health check-ups every couple of weeks for weight monitoring, vaccinations, and critical blood and fecal sampling. While all births of felines at the zoo are cause for excitement, the progeny for Ilanga and Tandie are particularly significant because they represent third generation lineage at Woodland Park Zoo. The father of Tandie was the late Xerxes who lived at the zoo until he passed away in 2022. "We are very excited about the birth of these lions, especially since they are the grandchildren of Xerxes who fathered Tandie and two other males in 2014. It's a big win for the Lion Species Survival Plan gene pool, and we're looking forward to establishing a new pride here and celebrating this incredible legacy of lions at Woodland Park Zoo," said Ramirez. The mom and cubs will remain off public view until they are a bit older and demonstrate solid mobility skills. In addition, outdoor temperatures will need to be a minimum of 50 degrees once they are introduced outdoors.  Woodland Park Zoo's lions belong to the South African subspecies, Panthera leo krugeri. Known as the Transvaal lion, it ranges in Southern Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest belt, in grassy plains, savanna and open woodlands. These lions range in weight from 260 to 400 pounds. African lions are considered vulnerable with as few as 23,000-39,000 estimated to remain in the wild and their future remains uncertain, particularly as the growth in human population continues to impact lion populations. There is legal hunting of lions and retaliation killing because they pose a threat to humans and livestock. In partnership with the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' African Lion SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program, Woodland Park Zoo supports conservation organizations working with communities living with lions, with the goal of increasing the number of lions in the wild by reinforcing viable, connected landscapes and supporting tolerant communities coexisting with African lions. Every visit to the zoo helps support the project; you can also adopt a lion through the zoo's ZooParent Adoption Program: