Fort Worth Zoo announces birth of lion cub

Fort Worth Zoo has announced its newest addition to their Predators of Asia & Africa lion habitat - an adorable lion cub named Moja.

Moja was born October 20 at 5:37 pm to proud mom, Saba, and dad, Jabulani, and weighed just 2.7 pounds when he was four days old.

The little lion is Saba's first cub and has already begun imitating predator-prey behaviors. like playing with his mother's tail, in the weeks since the zoo welcomed him.

Moja has yet to meet his father and the Texas zoo's other female lion, Abagabe.

However, the now-16-pound lion cub is still growing and will eventually be introduced to Jabulani when he's big enough for the zoo's habitat.

Jabulani, Saba, and Abagabe, were born in a South African wildlife sanctuary in 2012 and began living at the Fort Worth Zoo later that year.

The African lions are part of the zoo's Predators of Asia & Africa habitat that opened on June 22, 2023.

Moja, the first lion cub born at the Fort Worth Zoo in nine years and the first to eventually be integreated into the habitat, has been carefully watched by keepers since his birth.

'Moja has been behind the scenes growing and bonding with Mom, while keepers have kept a close eye on his development and wellbeing,' the zoo said in a statement to NBC DFW.

'Keepers are here with the cub (and all of our animals) every day. We also have a continuous camera feed in the den right now that staff can access and view 24/7,' said Avery Elander of Fort Worth Zoo.

Saba has frequently been nursing, bathing, and playing with Moja and has even carried him around their enclosure.

It's still being determined exactly when Moja will join the habitat, but the zoo keepers want to make sure that he can handle the space and water features before he does.

'We typically like to wait until the cub is about 3 months old, so that he can easily move around on his own and communicate with the adult lions,' said Elander.

Moja may not be appearing to zoo-goers just yet, but users on Instagram are loving the photos and the video of him posted on their account.