As I wrote in the post explaining her birth and the background of the Pride in "A new generation for Blair Drummond" I explained how impressed I am on their attitude in breeding lions. The majority of Safari Parks tend to have cubs every year to two years, but with no thoughts as to where possible cubs may end up however Blair Drummond went for ten years with no lions cubs and seem to have a very relaxed self sufficient way of keeping their pride going.
In 2010 "Dudley" arrived at the age of four years old from Longleat Safari Park. His father was the famous Kabir, who sadly died at Newquay Zoo where he was retired to in March 2008. "Dudley" took over the pride at Blair Drummond where he had seven lionesses to himself! "Libby's" birth in September 2011 was a first time for mother "Teekay" and brought a new generation to the pride, so two years later it is fantastic to hear the news of a new little girl adding to pride numbers.
The above photo was taken from the Blair Drummond Safari Park Facebook Page showing "Teekay" and new born "Karis". As shown in her stance and facial expression "Teekay" is showing superb signs straight away as i'm sure she did with "Libby" in being very protective over her new cub and is obviously not entirely keen on keeper interference which is just how a mother should be over her cub. Relaxed signs straight away could eventually lead in rejecting the cub, this is common in first time mums.
As shown below "Karis" really does look absolutely beautiful. Her speckledy pattern on her head is designed to camouflage her from predators in the long grass in their critical helpless stage. Mothers will generally leave the pride to give birth to their cubs in a secluded 'den' by themselves. This could be a hollow in rocks, or a patch of long grass in a wooded area, wherever is best suitable for them. This gives them time to bond with their cubs but also keeps them away from the rest of the pride where interaction with elder cubs and adult lions could prove fatal, especially if marauding male lions come close. Male lions will kill cubs that are not theirs with no hesitation, and a day old cub would be an incredibly easy target. The cubs will then return to the pride at a couple of months old and will then get used to the hustle and bustle of pride life.
The news of another female born is again more good news. The birth of female cubs to any pride is very important. Lionesses make up the pride, in a way they are the pride, male lions will come and go. A male lion or coalition will generally only reign over one to three years, during which time only one or two litters may be born. So throughout the average lifespan of a lioness they may have up to four different suitors. This is very useful for genetic diversity as many cubs born to the same female will have different fathers. So as the females will all stay together from all different generations the males are cast out of the pride to fend for themselves. They are either cast out by their own fathers when they reach sexual maturity, they are then considered a threat.
However males will join to form coalitions, which may even be with male lions they have previously fought. If they can work together they are open to form coalitions, as the more males they have, the more chances they have to take over a new pride, naturally however this will depend on the individuals. Male lions in zoos are either found new homes or may be kept in the pride and castrated. This is not something I am keen on because male lions that may be castrated can still hold a very dominant position in any pride environment which can make it very hard when mixing in new breeding males in the future. However it is a lot better than the alternative if no homes are found for them.
Above is a beautiful photo of lovely little "Karis" taken by Andrew Milligan and shown in the Metro. Here she is proving to be a big handful for all keepers involved just as she should be! They may seem small at the age, but they can put up a fight and can be incredibly feisty and inflict a fair deal of pain when they want to.
Her birth now brings pride numbers up to 8 including her father "Dudley" mother "Teekay" and older sister "Libby". The pride at Blair Drummond is now stable with a mixture of younger and older lionesses ready for whatever may be thrown at it, but hopefully at the age of seven "Dudley" will still have a few more litters to father with the current breeding females before he is retired as a breeding male. No doubt in the future "Libby" and "Karis" will become future breeding females when their future pride male arrives in many years time. However with "Dudley" only being seven we can probably expect a couple more litters, a few years as he enjoys retirement and then more cubs when he dies and is replaced, well that is what I imagine the next ten year plan to be.
I look forward to showing you all pictures of her in the 2014 season when visitors will first get a chance to see her out with the rest of the pride.
Enjoy
James
