Rare Barbary Lion Cubs Born in Pennsylvania Animal Park

Here's some Tuesday Morning Cute for yinz:

two week-old barbary lion cubs through glass
Two 1-week-old barbary lion cubs nestled in their blankets.

From KDKA News:
The newest residents of Living Treasures Wild Animal Park in Lawrence County are attracting quite a crowd. Three rare Barbary lion cubs – one male and two females -- were born on July 7th.

Barbary lions, also known as Atlas lions, were once native to the Atlas Mountains on North Africa; but unfortunately that's not the case anymore.

"The reason these cubs are so special," Adam Guiher from Living Treasures explained, "is Barbary Lions actually are extinct in the wild since 1921."

"They were basically hunted to extinction," Guiher added. "They were sought after because they had a big thick mane that was impressive to the hunters and that's just what did them in."

Male Barbary lions are unique because of their rich, dark mane. They can only be found in a handful of zoos around the world.

The new cubs will be hand-raised over the next few weeks. When they're old enough, the folks at Living Treasures will relocate them to a zoo.

The photos on the KDKA site are shot through the glass and so are pretty dark and fuzzy. Here is a clearer picture of a 5-week-old barbary lion cub from Animal Planet:

5-week-old barbary lion cub

Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.

blog comments powered by Disqus