KOCHI: With the arrival of twin newborn lion cubs at Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, the roar gets louder in Kerala. The five-year-old lioness Nayla gave birth to the fraternal twins on Monday. The last time the city zoo saw the birth of a lion cub was eight years ago when Ayush and Aishwarya had Gracy.
“Nayla had a difficult labour. Unfortunately, the lioness has rejected the cubs. This is not unusual. Nayla was not aware that she was supposed to nurse the cubs. The cubs are taken care of by the zoo staff,” Dr K R Nikesh Kiran, the zoo veterinarian, tells TNIE.
The zoo authorities are keen on ensuring that the mother and the cubs stay together. The staff decided to take care of the cubs after noticing that Nayla wasn’t heeding them for about 12 hours. They feared that if this remained so for long, the cubs might develop hypoglycemia. They are currently fed with 10-20ml diluted and sterilised goat milk every hour.
“Since the cubs have not got colostrums, the nutrients-rich first milk produced by the lioness, the chances of them developing infection from us humans are high. So we ensure that there’s very minimal contact. Sterile clothes are encouraged and photography is prohibited until the cubs are out of danger,” Dr Nikesh adds.
According to him, it will take about 10-13 days for the cubs to open their eyes. Their names would be decided later. It was in June that Nayla and six-year-old Leo were brought from Sri Venkateswara zoo in Tirupati. Though they led solitary lives at first, the two got close in no time.
While Nayla is currently put in a closed enclosure to aid recovery, the proud father Leo is roaming around the open enclosure, much to the delight of the visitors. While Ayush is no more, Aishwarya and Gracy still grace the city zoo.