Doha
An African lioness has given birth to a cub at the Al Khor Park Zoo in Qatar.
The cub is currently under the care of veterinarians at the zoo and will remain separated from the mother for two weeks.
If animals in captivity are stressed, they are more likely to eat their cubs. There have been several incidents of lionesses eating their cubs in the wild and it is a more frequent occurrence in captivity.
The cub will be fed formula milk for about two months. From them third month, the cub will be allowed to breastfeed and will then be gradually put on meat diet.
It is worth noting that the African lion resides in central and southern Africa and lives in groups of between 15 to 30 individuals. A nocturnal animal that sees well in the dark, lions spend most of their day sleeping — for about 21 hours. The females carry out hunting tasks to feed the herd, and the female pregnancy ranges from 100 up to 110 days. Their life span is around 15 to 24 years.
