Oklahoma City Zoo welcomes first litter of African lion cubs born at zoo in 15 years

By KOCO Staff

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — The Oklahoma City Zoo announced the recent birth of four African lion cubs.

Dunia gave birth to her first litter of cubs on Monday at the zoo’s Lion Overlook habitat. The litter includes three females and a male.

This marks the first time in 15 years that a litter of African cubs was born at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

“We are incredibly excited to share the news about the recent additions to our African lion pride,” Tyler Boyd, OKC Zoo’s curator of carnivores, said in a news release. “Throughout her pregnancy, birth and now care of these four cubs, Dunia has been amazing and is showing excellent maternal care. This birth is vital to the African lion population and has been a culmination of years of hard work, dedication and commitment by the Oklahoma City Zoo and its supporters, the African Lion SSP and the Zoo’s carnivore care team.

“We cannot wait to watch these cubs grow up and become fan favorites for years to come.”

Dunia was in labor from about 7:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday. The zoo’s carnivore care team watched the births through video monitoring and reported that all four cubs were nursing within hours of being born.

The cubs and Dunia are in good health and will remain behind the scenes in their indoor dens as they spend time bonding. Caretakers will soon introduce pride members dad, Hubert, and lioness, Moto, to the cubs through a “howdy” process, zoo officials said.

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