Fota welcome 4 new lion cubs

Talk about family portrait goals! This furry family just got a little bigger with Fota Wildlife Park announcing the birth of four Asian lion cubs.

They were born on 20 February to second-time parents, mother Gira and father Shanto.

The eight week old cubs were born along with a fifth cub who was stillborn, unfortunately. The new cubs join their parent’s first litter who are now one and a half years old – Amira, Arya and Loki and aunt Gita in their specially designed habitat in Fota Wildlife Park.

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 in 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 weighted them all and they all weight exactly the same – 7.15kg.”

As yet the cubs are unnamed and Fota Wildlife Park is calling on the public to help name them and be in with a chance to win one of four year-long conservation annual passes.

Visit fotawildlife.ie/blog for more details on how to enter.