New arrivals are rawr-ing to go!
The pitter patter of little paws can be heard at Fota Wildlife Park following the birth of four Asian lion cubs.
The eight week old cubs were born in February to second time parents, mother Gira and father Shanto, along with a fifth cub who was sadly stillborn. The new cubs join their parents' first litter who are now one and a half years old, Amira, Arya and Loki, and aunt Gita in their specially designed habitat in the park.
The Asiatic Lion Habitat was opened in 2016 when Gira and Gita, now aged five, came from Helsinki Zoo while Shanto, now aged eight, came from Zoo de Santillana in Spain. The couple’s first litter was born in 2017.
Fota Wildlife Park opened the Asian Sanctuary in 2015, and it is now home to some of Asia’s most endangered species such as the Indian rhino and the Sumatran tiger as well as the Asian lion.
Lead Ranger Kelly Lambe said: “We are thrilled with the arrival of this litter of four Asian lion cubs at Fota Wildlife Park. This species is endangered and now inhabits only one remaining site in the world – the Gir Forest, in India, which means that wildlife parks and zoos play a crucial role in safeguarding the species and maintaining the genetic diversity outside of the pocket of the wild population.
“Unfortunately, one of the cubs was stillborn, however, five in a litter is extremely rare and we are delighted that there are four cubs thriving and they are all feeding and bonding well with Mum Gira. It’s Gira’s second litter with our male lion, Shanto, and she is a protective mum. We vaccinated and weighed them all and they all weigh exactly the same – 7.15kg.”
Almost all the world’s population of wild lions live in Sub-Saharan Africa except for the Asian lion which inhabits the Gir Forest in India, now a reserve for this endangered species. Fota Wildlife Park, a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) participates in the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for Asian lions.
There are now only 500 Asian lions living in the wild therefore the cooperative breeding programmes that zoos and wildlife parks do, such as the birth of the cubs at Fota, is an essential safeguard against a severe decline to the wild population, which may be vulnerable to disease or other factors such as natural disaster.
Fota Wildlife Park is calling on the public to help name the cubs and be in with a chance to win one of four year-long Conservation Annual Passes. To enter visit fotawildlife.ie/blog.