Photos, video: Omaha zoo lion cubs get a super-cute checkup (including recessive gene RARE white)

[Omaha Steve]

More photos at link.

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/zoo/photos-video-omaha-zoo-lion-cubs-get-a-super-cute/article_c31744be-9da8-11e4-81ce-a3cce0580f22.html

POSTED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015 11:54 AM
From staff reports


CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

A baby white lion rolls over at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium on Wednesday, November 26, 2014.

Video: http://studio.omaha.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=91341&ndn.siteSection=omahawh_nws_loc_sty_pp&ndn.videoId=28366799&freewheel=91341&sitesection=omahawh_nws_loc_sty_pp&vid=28366799


The three lions cubs born at the Henry Doorly Zoo in November were back in the spotlight Friday during a regular checkup – and they're as cute as ever.


SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Lion cubs hide after their checkup Friday at the Henry Doorly Zoo.


The cubs were separated from their mother, Ahadi, and aunt Mfisha, for the checkup, which included the first of several vaccinations they will receive in the coming months.

The cubs – two males and a female – weigh between 19 and 21 pounds, the zoo said in a press release.

One of the two male lion cubs holds a special distinction. The white lion is covered in snow-white fur similar in color to its mother’s underbelly, a rare trait caused by a recessive gene native to only one group of lions in a South African national park. Zoo Executive Director and CEO Dennis Pate has said the zoo had no idea its lions carried the gene.


We got the book below for our granddaughter at Christmas. She was excited because her teacher had read it to them at school. You can also read the book online for free at the store link.



Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo celebrated the birth of five lion cubs, the first born at the zoo since 1994. But the smallest of the cubs, Zuri, faced challenges from the start. The World-Herald's Carol Bicak tells how the littlest lion in the litter survived and thrived in a special family. To preview the book and order, visit the OWH Store: http://marketplace.omaha.com/shop/product.php?productid=85953&cat=0&featured=Y