The Lion's Cubs

The Lion's Cubs

The Lion's Cubs

The gestation period for a lioness is about 110 days. It gives birth to up to 4 cubs at a time. Once they are born, the mother moves them to isolation and the only outside contact they have is the mother. The hideout is usually a cave, a thicket or a reed bed. At this time, the mother hunts on her own staying close to the cubs to protect them. At birth, the cubs may weigh approximately 1.2 to 2.1 kg. They are born blind but the eyes open up after a week. They crawl after a day or two and start walking after three weeks. The predators are many and they include jackals, hyenas, leopards, martial eagles and snakes. Buffaloes normally maliciously stamp the cubs to death when they find their hide out.

The mother moves her cubs from one hide out to another several times a month to avoid scent building up in one place thus being found easily. It carries them one by one by the nape which to human eyes may seem very uncomfortable but it is not. The mother does not even introduce the cubs to the pride until they are about eight weeks old. If other lionesses have had cubs too at the same time, it is easier for all the cubs and their survival chances are higher. If they find older cubs, they might be dominated during meal times and the result is death through starvation.

Once the cubs join the group, they might feel uncomfortable and out of place for a few days as they get used to the group. If the other lionesses have had cubs of their own, they can be tolerant to them. Some male lions do not mind the cubs playing around it and with its tail and mane while some cannot stand the bother. At three to four years, they have full matured and males can now start looking for groups to dominate.

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