One of the Oklahoma City Zoo's four lion cubs gets fed Tuesday. The four were born earlier this month through emergency Caesarian section. BY JOHN CLANTON, THE OKLAHOMAN
What's ahead for the cubs? The new cubs at the Oklahoma City Zoo are weighed at 8 a.m. daily, and they're fed twice a day. Keepers will stop bottle feeding after four or five months.
In about six months, the cubs will be introduced to the pride, which is composed of their three parents, said Jonathan Reding, supervisor of the zoo's Cat Forest and Lion Overlook. In the zoo world, this is called a "howdy.” The cubs will be able to see and hear their parents but won't immediately be allowed into the same area.
The lions were bred as part of the national species survival plan, which dictates which animals reproduce and when. The idea is to keep the gene pool diverse.
As part of the plan, the cubs may leave Oklahoma City. In a year or so, zoo experts will analyze the African lion population in the U.S. and see which animals should move to new locations because of breeding, space needs or other factors, said the zoo's Brian Aucone. The cubs may stay or go.
"For the moment,” he said, "they'll be here for a while.”
What's ahead for the cubs? The new cubs at the Oklahoma City Zoo are weighed at 8 a.m. daily, and they're fed twice a day. Keepers will stop bottle feeding after four or five months.
In about six months, the cubs will be introduced to the pride, which is composed of their three parents, said Jonathan Reding, supervisor of the zoo's Cat Forest and Lion Overlook. In the zoo world, this is called a "howdy.” The cubs will be able to see and hear their parents but won't immediately be allowed into the same area.
The lions were bred as part of the national species survival plan, which dictates which animals reproduce and when. The idea is to keep the gene pool diverse.
As part of the plan, the cubs may leave Oklahoma City. In a year or so, zoo experts will analyze the African lion population in the U.S. and see which animals should move to new locations because of breeding, space needs or other factors, said the zoo's Brian Aucone. The cubs may stay or go.
"For the moment,” he said, "they'll be here for a while.”
