POWELL – The three lion cubs born last week at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium aren’t quite miracles but they certainly beat some long odds.
The first litter for four-year-old Naomi was a surprise since the cub’s father, Tomo, underwent a vasectomy in 2018, said Patty Peters, the zoo’s vice president of community relations
On rare occasions, vasectomies fail in both humans and wildlife, she said.
The cub were born on August 16 and August 17 and Naomi and her offspring are doing well. Peters says they are being monitored behind the scenes by the Zoo’s veterinary and Heart of Africa animal care teams.
Tomo underwent the vasectomy procedure because his genes are strongly represented within the African Lion Species Survival Program’s population, Peters said.
Tomo was humanely euthanized in May at the age of 15 after his quality of life rapidly diminished due to age-related issues, including degenerative joint disease and kidney disease resulting in the inability to stand, Peters said.
Tomo mated with Naomi, who is also his daughter, before his rapid health decline. Because female cubs stay with their birth pride, African lions are known at times to mate with their own offspring if another male has not been able to establish himself as the new leader of the pride.
Zoos try to manage prides to maximize genetic diversity but a father-daughter mating can occur. Peters says there’s no established evidence that this type of familial breeding increases genetic problems.