How to Help Lions Raise Their Cubs

Helping lions raise their cubs is no easy feat; it takes dedication and lots of patience. Although capabilities of humans to raise lion cubs has greatly increased; it is often important rather, for us to restore natural order by helping adult lions raise them instead.

Things You'll Need

  • Operating space
  • Proper permits to take care of big cats if applicable.
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Do some studying. Always make sure you do some research on the actual lion parent you have and if they have had cubs before. You may also want to know what the adult lions weaknesses and character flaws may be in order to prevent some mistakes before they occur with the cub.

    • 2

      Educate the adult lion first. Some adult lions in captivity may not have been raised by a lion themselves and may need teaching in order to raise their cubs properly.

    • 3

      Keep a watchful eye on the situation. Always watch both the parent and the cub when able, providing extra food for the parent in cases of captive lions will help mothering lions to nurse cubs regularly. Also be sure to watch any male lions who are in the same area as the cubs for any aggression towards the cubs.

    • 4

      Don't overstep your boundaries or overreact. When working with adult lions to help raise their cubs, it can be easy to forget that these are wild animals who often work off of instinct. Do not be in such a hurry to rush in and resolve every issue for the parent lion who is making minimal mistakes. Doing so may also place the human care-taker in unnecessary danger as most wild lions are protective by nature.

    • 5

      Have the least amount of contact as possible with the cub. It is important to remember that you want to focus on helping the adult lion parent on raising the cub, not doing it yourself. Keep involvement with the cub to a minimum, except on unavoidable studies, health concerns, and situations when diet supplements may need to be administered.

    • 6

      Define the line of involvement and stick to it. Knowing when you will take action with the adult lion or directly with the cub itself is key. At times, life threatening issues with the cub may justify human intervention in captivity, but if doing a study in the wild; intervening may not be the solution although morally difficult at times to stay uninvolved.