Of all the stars at the Idaho Falls Zoo, Kimani and Dahoma are two of the brightest. Despite being a bit long in the tooth, the African lions successfully produced their first cub on Feb. 17.
Then things got complicated.
“Kimani has been a good mother, but a little overzealous,” said zoo veterinarian Dr. Rhonda Aliah.
While being carried in her mother’s mouth, the cub incurred a minor injury, she said. “Because of her fastidious nature of cleaning, she over-cleaned the wound to the point that it became a little more open, and was not healing.”
As a result, zookeepers had to pull the cub into their care after about 10 days. It took another two weeks for the wound to heal, which presented the caretakers with a challenge.
“To reintroduce him to his mother, we wanted him to be a little stronger, a little more agile, so we brought in a surrogate.”
And what a surprising surrogate it is. The cub’s four-footed foster parent is Justice, a Great Pyrenees, who has already raised her own litter as well as a local sheep.
According to Dr. Aliah, a canine serves as a suitable surrogate because it can handle the “puppiness” of cubs as they playfully bite and climb on the female dog just like they would their own mother.
“She is teaching him manners, so he can learn how to behave in a pride,” Aliah said, gesturing to the nearby adult lion habitat. “If he were hand-raised strictly by humans, he would not have respect for those lions just across the way.”
According to zookeeper Linda Beard, the motherly dog is a perfect fit. “She really knows her job,” she said. “In fact, our hope is to keep her on as an education animal once she gets done with the cub.”
At present, the cub is already 20 pounds and measuring well on the growth curb. Zoo staff estimate that the cub will transition into a new living situation within a couple of months.
Justice and the cub will be posing publicly over the next few weeks. Tentatively, the exhibit will be open daily between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Visit www.idahofallszoo.gov for updates.