Two little males and one female African lion cubs have just had their first trip to the vet at Milwaukee County Zoo. Born on July 24 and 25, these are the first offspring of mother, Sanura, and father, Themba, both of whom are 8 years old. The boys both weighed 5.2 kg (11.44 pounds) and the girl was 4.75 kg (10.45 pounds). These weights were taken on August 25th, when they were exactly one month old. 

Photo Credit: Michael A. Nepper, Milwaukee County Zoo

Early on, Zookeepers monitored Sanura and her cubs in an area not visible to the public mainly via video feed. They saw that the cubs were nursing, sleeping and showing signs of light activity. 

Twice daily, keepers entered into the off-public area for cleaning and feeding duties and reported that first-time mother Sanura was doing well with her cubs, paying attention to them and remaining calm and relaxed -- even with zookeepers nearby.

They are growing rapidly and are doing very well! It is the hope of Zoo staff that by three months of age, the cubs will make their “in person” debut to the public, when the youngsters can consistently shift on and off public exhibit with Sanura. The public can now see the cubs on a special video screen showing in the Florence Mila Borchert Family Big Cat Country. This will mark the first time the Zoo has exhibited lion cubs since 1974.