Healthy and lively lion cubs are preventively vaccinated against cat flu, dewormed and weighed by the zoo vet at Royal Burgers' Zoo

Arnhem, 4th February 2021 - Thursday 4th February 2021 in the early morning, zoo vet Henk Luten preventively vaccinated lion triplets against cat flu at Royal Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands. The healthy and lively lion cubs were also dewormed and weighed, seizing the opportunity. Very soon the triplets and their mother will be introduced to the other lions in Arnhem: an adult male, a second adult female and two other slightly elder cubs. In total, eight lions will inhabite a large outdoor enclosure.

9.5 weeks of age

The lion triplets were born in Arnhem on 26th November 2020. At 9.5 weeks of age, they received their second and last vaccination against cat flu this morning. All three cubs are female and will remain in Burgers' Zoo for the next couple of years. One of the two elder cubs is a male, the other one is a female. In order to prevent inbreeding, the adult male will probably move to another zoo in a couple of years.

World-famous breeder of lions

Nowadays, breeding lions in zoos is common practice. In the 1960s, however, Royal Burgers' Zoo was world-famous in breeding lions, whereas other zoos were less successful. Already in 1965, one thousand lion cubs had been born in Arnhem! Even the famous roaring 'Leo the Lion' (1957 - until now) of MGM Studios in the USA was born in Royal Burgers' Zoo. Times have changed and zoos nowadays work internationally closely together, sharing experience and know-how easily and readily amongst colleagues. Breeding lions is very successful in zoos at the moment. In nature, lion populations have dropped dramatically in recent decades, unfortunately: WWF estimates a decrease of approximately 40%!