Updates From the Zoo's Lion Keepers: Cubs Will Be Cubs
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April 28, 2011
Zuri's keepers are monitoring her behavior, movement, and appetite daily, and are working with the Zoo's veterinary team on her recovery plan. So far we have not observed swelling around her leg, and are encouraged by her good appetite, enthusiastic participation in training exercises with her keepers, and her ability to intermittently bear some weight on her injured leg.
We had hoped that Zuri would heal on her own within a couple of weeks, just as Fahari did, but unfortunately we have not observed much improvement in her mobility. Our veterinary team plans to perform a physical exam on Friday to learn more about what's going on with Zuri's leg. We'll be sure to keep everyone posted!
April 18, 2011
For those of you who have visited or tuned into the cub cams recently, you may have seen one of the cubs limping. Zuri is doing well. She is lame and may look worse at times depending on whether she has been out playing and maybe overdone it a bit, or if she’s been resting and allowed her leg to stiffen up. She has been lame now for about a week and we (animal care staff) have opted with this girl to just keep watching and not take any further action at this point. Unless we feel that her condition is truly taking a turn for the worse we will stick with this plan.
Dealing with cubs is almost exactly like dealing with a human child. You as the keeper (or parent) have to make the best decisions for the animal (or child) that you can with your knowledge and experience. Do you take the animal (or child) to the vet’s office (emergency room). In our case, this may involve chemical anesthesia and stress from the cub being separated from the rest of the pride. Or do we see if she will allow it to heal on its own?
At this point, Zuri is walking gingerly and bearing about 90 percent weight (on average) on her bum wheel, and there is no swelling or any other evidence of a fracture, break, muscle tear, or foreign object stuck.
We have started letting her out into the exhibit yard with the group again because, even though she is still lame, she is dealing with the injury just fine and seems to be regulating her activity on her own. We will occasionally keep her inside when we don’t feel that the yard conditions are safe for her—like when it’s raining and the yard is too slick. Who knows exactly what happened to her? We suspect that she was rough housing with her siblings and cousins and got pushed off a bench inside (contrary to popular belief, cats DO NOT always land on their feet). We don't know have how long it will take for her to be back to 100 percent normal, but we feel that she is indeed on the mend.
