African lioness Dunia, 8, gave birth to five cubs on Monday at the Oklahoma City Zoo. (Oklahoma City Zoo)
Oklahoma City
A zoo in Oklahoma says its family of lions has grown with the birth of five cubs.
According to the Oklahoma City Zoo, African lioness Dunia, 8, gave birth to five cubs on Monday at the zoo’s Lion Overlook at Expedition Africa.
Zoo officials said this was Dunia’s second litter of cubs with 12-year-old father Hubert after they welcomed their first litter in September 2022.
“We are excited to welcome the cubs to the Zoo and look forward to watching our pride grow! Seeing Dunia become a mom again is an incredible experience that we are grateful to be able to witness a second time,” Tyler Boyd, the zoo’s curator of carnivores, said.
Animal caretakers said Dunia and the cubs were doing great after the birth and they will be spending time together behind the scenes to bond and rest.
“This birth is significant to not only the OKC Zoo but lion populations globally. African lions are classified as vulnerable through the International Union for Conservation of Nature and we are excited to be able to increase the lion population globally. We look forward to sharing more about the cubs soon,” Boyd said.
According to the zoo, Dunia was in labor for about seven hours and birthed her first four cubs before surprising caretakers by giving birth to a fifth cub hours later.
The zoo said the cubs now bring its lion population up to 12, and visitors can visit the family in the Lion Overlook area.