African Lion Cubs Make Their Debut at Philadelphia Zoo

By Alison Smith:

The four African lion cubs born earlier this summer made their public debut Friday at the Philadelphia Zoo.

The cubs—the offspring of Makini and Tajiri— have been named Kataba, Mali, Msinga and Sabi, the zoo said.

Two of the cubs were born June 25, and two June 26. The zoo said that they can be distinguished by their markings: “Kataba has marks on both front feet; Mali has no dye mark;, Msinga has a lighter mark on the left front foot, and Sabi has a mark on the left hind foot.”

The cubs still spend most of their time with mother Tajiri, the zoo said in a blog post, but are growing quickly. As a group, the five lions consume about 18 pounds of meat a day, the zoo said.

Want to visit the new cubs? The Philadelphia Zoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.