4 March 2025
A tiny trio of two boys and one girl
Whipsnade Zoo’s trio of 14-week-old Northern African lion cubs have had their first health check, allowing their excited keepers to finally learn the sexes of the conservation zoo’s newest arrivals.
The zoo’s expert vet team and keepers carried out the cubs’ medical exam in the familiar surroundings of their indoor den, to keep the cubs as relaxed as possible. The team – consisting of one vet, a vet nurse, and keepers worked quickly to get all three lions checked, vaccinated, and sexed as fast as possible- with their meticulously planned process meaning they were done in just 15 minutes.
Whipsnade zoo's trio of lion cubs
Whipsnade Zoo’s senior veterinary officer Dr Taina Strike began by determining the sexes of the cubs, announcing that Winta was the proud mother of two males and one female. She then gave each cub a check-up, which included administering vaccines, fitting microchips, listening to their hearts, and inspecting their tiny paws and ears. The vets also took the opportunity to thoroughly check the progress of the cub who hadn’t been walking as expected, and were happy to report that his leg is faring much better now.
However, during the examination, a heart murmur was detected in the second male cub. The infant will now be under close veterinary observation for the next few weeks, and Whipsnade’s vets will share what they learn with other conservation zoos and wildlife vets to improve veterinary care for big cats around the world.
The bigger picture
Taina said: “The cubs’ first health check is a major milestone for them, and gives us a chance to see how they are all doing. Winta is taking great care of her cubs, but right now they need a little extra attention from us too – we'll be monitoring the cub with the heart murmur very closely.
“Not only does the health check allow us to assess their progress and boost the immune systems of the young cubs, but every opportunity to examine an animal boosts our veterinary knowledge and expertise, which we can directly apply to animals we and our colleagues around the world, are protecting in the wild.”
The cubs’ sexes and vital statistics will be added to Species360 - a global species database, which is shared by zoos across the world, officially adding the trio to the international breeding programme of this vulnerable species.
Conserving their species
Whipsnade Zoo’s predators team leader Steve Merrick-White said: “The lion cubs’ first health check is an exciting milestone, and we could clearly see that they’re already developing strong personalities – the female is really feisty and bold, whilst one of the males is a little quieter but can fix you with a good glare!”
“These three cubs are important for the conservation breeding programme for their sadly threatened subspecies, and they’ll support our work here at Whipsnade Zoo to educate our visitors not only about the threats lions face in the wild, such as human/wildlife conflict and habitat loss, but more importantly, how our visitors can help us protect the planet.”