Lion cub born in Henderson litter of 6 dies

One of six African Lion cubs born April 1 at Lion Habitat Ranch in Henderson has died, according to the facility’s owner.

The male cub passed away on Saturday, habitat owner Keith Evans told the Review-Journal. Its five siblings were healthy Thursday afternoon, bundled together in one of the habitat’s 15 fenced enclosures, inside an 8-by-12-foot, plywood-walled den.

It was 6-year-old Pebbels’ third litter, and the largest Evans had seen or heard of. The cubs haven’t been named yet.

Craig Packer, an ecology professor at the University of Minnesota, wasn’t surprised to hear one of the cubs had died. Packer, who spends six months in Africa each year studying lions, said litters greater than four are too stressful for mothers to adequately nourish.

Litters of six are extremely rare, Packer said, making up only about 1 percent of all litters in East Africa.

“Some species are very flexible in their litter sizes,” Packer said. “But with lions it’s really just luck.”

Packer said he’s never seen a litter larger than six in over 35 years of studying African Lions. Most litters are between one and three cubs, he said.

But the remaining five cubs at Lion Habitat Ranch should still survive, he said, especially because they’re in captivity.

“(Pebbels) is going to be producing a lot of milk,” he said, “and there will be enough to go around.”

Now 10 days old, the remaining cubs can only crawl and have limited nearsighted vision, Evans said. Within two weeks, he expects the cubs to venture out of their den into the enclosure’s 50-by-70-foot yard.

The staff at Lion Habitat Ranch still doesn’t know the genders of the five cubs, Evans said, but he hopes to have that figured out soon. For now, he’s staying away to allow the cubs to bond with their mother.

“If you start interacting with the cubs too early, the mom starts losing track of them,” Evans explained.

Once the cubs reach six weeks old, they begin eating meat and become less dependent on their mother.

Founded in 1989, the 6.2 acre Lion Habitat Ranch is now home to 51 lions and other exotic animals such as ostriches, emus and a giraffe, Evans said.

The habitat’s Clark County permit was extended in March through December 2020. Talks were originally delayed before a compromise was officially reached on March 18. Evans, who exceeded the 40-animal count allowed by the county in the habitat’s last permit, worked out the extension by agreeing to stop breeding after last week’s litter was born.

Around 15 of his lions are 20 years old, Evans said, and nearing the end of their lives.

Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj