Beautiful footage has been released from a zoo in Denver, Colorado, showing a huge male lion meeting one of his cubs for the first time. The video soon went viral and has had over 9 million views on YouTube.
Tobia, the large male lion, was mesmerised on first meeting the tiny version of himself who weighs just 12 lbs. Tobia can be seen crouching down in front of the cub, intrigued by what the little creature actually is. Soon though, they were sitting together and the little cub, who is yet to be named, was climbing on his back.
Male lions can be extremely dangerous for young cubs, and when they are newly born, they are kept in a den by the mother, in case they are attacked, or in case an adult lion accidentally stands on top of them. Male lions will also often kill the cubs of lions belonging to other lions out with their pride. However, Tobias was extremely gentle towards the youngster and it looks like he will guide them well through the early years of their life.
The zoo staff at Denver were extremely happy with how the interaction went and are now encouraging the public to vote on what the lion cub's name should be.
The cub now spends all their time with their father, mother, Neliah, and half-sister, who all live in the same enclosure where they are looked after to the very highest level. They won't however be in the public eye until they have grown significantly larger.
Denver Zoo said in a statement, reporting on the birth of this and another cub:
"Half of Africa's lions have disappeared in the past 25 years and the species faces growing threats from poaching, loss of prey and habitat destruction. The cubs' birth is another success for the Lion Species Survival Plan (SSP), which ensures healthy, genetically diverse populations of lions within Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions. The cubs will stay behind the scenes for approximately two months to give them time to bond and gradually introduce the cub to the rest of the pride. They'll primarily stay in their den box, which the Animal Care team provides to mimic the space a lioness would seek out to give birth in the wild. [The lioness] will still have access to other holding areas behind the scenes, but the addition of the den box gives her a sense of security for her and her cub."
[h/t: Fascinating Things]
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