Bahati, the first lion cub born at the Dallas Zoo in 43 years, made her first public appearance today (Friday, 19).
Born on March 17, she now weighs 13 pounds. Mom Lina’s previous pregnancy resulted in the birth of two stillborn cubs. This time, according to zookeeper Keith Zdrijewski, Lina had a C-section. He explained the lions are trained for injections. So when she went into labor, she allowed the veterinarians to inject sedatives so they could perform the C-section. Zookeepers knew the cub was healthy because Lina was also ultrasound-trained.
Bahati is the first cub Lina has ever seen. But her instincts took over when she woke up and began nursing her cub.
Bahati has already learned some stalking behavior. When she first saw a crowd of people standing outside her enclosure, her eyes opened wide and she crouched, ready to pounce. In addition to her mom, Bahati plays with her aunt.
She’s yet to meet Kamau, her father, but Zdrijewski said they plan to introduce them soon. Kamau’s been a father twice before in other zoos where, Zdrijewski said, he’s been a great dad.