The two cubs, born in April, did not survive. Planckendael Zoo, near Antwerp in Belgium, announced sad news on Monday. Lioness Lorena killed her two Asian lion cubs, only two months old. The mother attacked her cubs after they were vaccinated against panleukopenia, which is potentially fatal in felines.
“All lion cubs are vaccinated at eight weeks of age. With the lions of Africa, it has always gone well, ”notes the zoo in a press release posted on Facebook. But Lorena “mortally wounded her little ones”. “In the wild, lionesses bite their cubs to death when they notice they are sick or weak,” the zoo explains.
Ongoing research
“Caregivers are heartbroken”, underlines the Belgian structure which ensures that an investigation is underway to determine to what extent it is an individual incident or a particularity of the Asian lionesses. Lioness Lorena already had three cubs in 2016 and two years ago she killed one of her cubs.
“We will carry out extensive research (…) in order to further contribute to the survival of this endangered species and of future generations”, assures the Planckendael zoo. The Asiatic lion virtually disappeared in the 20th century, due to hunting and the destruction of its habitat.