WATCH: Lion cub Simba born in Singapore via artificial insemination
Updated | By AFP
The
Singapore Zoo has welcomed a lion cub named Simba to its animal kingdom
following artificial insemination that officials said on Tuesday was a first for
the city-state
It is rare for lions to be conceived through artificial insemination, with the procedure first carried out successfully in 2018 -- resulting in two cubs in South Africa.
Lion populations in the wild have plummeted more than 40 percent over the past two decades, with about 23,000 to 39,000 mature animals left, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
It lists lions as vulnerable.
Singapore's new cub, named after the main character in Disney's "The Lion King", was conceived with semen from an elderly African lion.
The father Mufasa, who also takes his name from the animated film, was in poor health and did not survive the procedure, the zoo said.
Simba, who was born in October, is being cared for by his mother Kayla and zookeepers, and is "healthy and inquisitive", officials said.
VIDEO: Singapore Zoo releases video of its lion cub Simba who was born in October 2020 after being conceived by artificial insemination in January 2020. The male cub was conceived with semen extracted from an elderly African lion using electric pulses pic.twitter.com/40SxIlzvLj
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 27, 2021
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