This Florida zoo just made history with 3 cute cubs. Soon you will hear them roar
Three lion cubs have made their furry debut Wednesday at a Southwest Florida zoo.
The cubs — named Karoo, Ruaha and Chobe after three national parks in South Africa — were born in May to first time mother Shani and her mate, Masamba, at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens.
Video shared on Twitter by the zoo shows the healthy and happy cubs playing and exploring in their new home. They’ve also added a new lion pride-themed “Meet-The-Keeper” talk to their schedule.
The zoo hasn’t had lion cubs in over 30 years, according to a news release.
The cubs may be a shining light for the population
Internationally, the species has been classified as “Vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List since 1996 because of the population’s continuous decline. The list is a critical health indicator of the world’s biodiversity used by government and conservation agencies.
The lion population has seen a 43 percent decline over the past 21 years, according to the agency’s 2016 report. Last assessed in June 2014, the species has approximately 23,000-39,000 mature individuals.
Factors hurting the population include illegal hunting, habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict.
Two lion subspecies were also added to the U.S. Endangered Act in January 2016. The subspecies located in India, western and central Africa is listed as “endangered.” The subspecies located in eastern and southern Africa is listed as “threatened.”
To read the entire assessment, visit iucnredlist.org
This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 2:54 PM.
