Rare lion cub born at Idaho Falls Zoo

There is a new addition at the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park! A new 2-month-old lion cub was introduced to the public Wednesday.

“This pair of lions is a very valuable pair of lions,” Rhonda Aliah said. “In the world, there’s probably 40 percent of the lions have died off.”

The Idaho Falls Zoo announced that the rare male African lion cub was born at the zoo on February 17, 2017. The cub isn’t named yet.

“Back about 8 years ago, they wanted to mix our male and have him breed with a female who had very specific blood lines,” Aliah said.

Rhonda Aliah is a 26-year veterinarian at the Idaho Falls Zoo. She said it has taken the mother, Kimani. eight years to get pregnant.

“The captive lion population is also at risk because being captive, the blood lines have a tendency to stay the same and so when you get unique individuals as the two lions we have here, their offspring will help perpetuate a bloodline that mixes better and is healthier and more stable,” Aliah said.

As soon as the cub was born, he had to be removed from his mother to be treated for a medical issue but he has a different mentor now and her name is Justice. She is a sweet, great Pyrenees who is moving the cub into the direction of becoming a lion.

Their bond is like no other.

“Their nature is to guard and so to do that she’s very protective of this cub and that helps him to learn to be bonded but to learn respect with a dog who will not let them mess with them either but she’s gentle,” Aliah said.

The zoo has been in contact with lion managers at The Denver zoo. they helped the Idaho Falls Zoo try to reintroduce Kimani to her cub, but it seemed a little too much.

“They are rough in nature, I mean they’ve got to discipline their cub and she never hurt him in any way, shape or form, so what we’re trying to do is give him a little more time to grow, to be a little more agile, to be more aware of her,” Aliah said.

Once the cub is reintroduced to mom, the staff plans to introduce him back to dad, Dahoma.

“The hope would be that he would turn back to our collection and maybe stay here from one to two years, until he moves to a different zoo. He can’t stay here the whole time because dad and he would start to fight, or he might try to breed his mother and you certainly don’t want that combination going on,” Aliah said.

If you would like to meet Justice and the cub, they will be on display daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the zoo.

Wild African lion numbers have declined 40 percent in the past 30 years. The Idaho Falls Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and participates in a program known as the Species Survival Plan. A lion manager from the Denver Zoo who has experience with conducting these types of reintroductions and who serves as an advisor to the AZA’s lion SSP will be onsite during reintroduction. The lion manager will help interpret behaviors and guide zoo staff and the cub during what will be a very stressful and potentially dangerous, but extremely developmentally important, time in the cub’s life.