Zoo Miami lion cub dies

Male cub was born in September

MIAMI – One of three lion cubs born at Zoo Miami in September has died.

The zoo announced the death on Friday.

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Zoo officials were concerned when the newborns' mother, 3-year-old Kashifa, began to neglect the cubs after initially tending to them. Zoo Miami staff were forced to intervene when it became apparent that the cubs were not receiving enough nutrients from their mother.

After being temporarily separated from their mother, the family was reunited. Two of the cubs seemed to recover from the neglect, but the third one, a male, was not able to survive.

The two remaining cubs remain in the zoo's lion night house but have now been separated from their mother to allow for regular hand-raising by the carnivore staff.  The zoo says the separation is a last resort effort to save the lives of the cubs as it is Zoo Miami's policy to leave babies with their mothers except when the life of the offspring or the mother is in danger.

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