A new source of pride and joy has arrived to join her own pride at the St. Louis Zoo. An African lion cub was born on July 17 at the Zoo, along with another female cub which was, unfortunately, stillborn.
The female cub, named Imani, which means "faith" in Swahili, became dehydrated several days after birth, and is now being hand-fed, with success, at the Zoo's veterinary hospital.
The Zoo said that "for several hours each day, Big Cat Country keepers return her to a den next to her mother" and that "the staff hopes to reintroduce the cub and mother sometime in the future."
“Lions are social animals, and the cub needs to grow up in a family group if at all possible,” said Steve Bircher, curator of mammals/carnivores at the Zoo. “We hope to raise a well-adjusted lion.”
