Lion cubs now on exhibit at Denver Zoo

“Since Er Shun is a lactating mother, staff have been very focused on increasing her bamboo intake which is very important to maintain her milk production”, the zoo said in a statement. While their mom Er Shun is doing a great job taking care of them, she is getting some loving assistance from both zoo staff and giant panda experts from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.

A pair of two-month-old lion cubs has made their public debut at the Denver Zoo.

The 20-pound cubs, which were born September 10, are growing up to four pounds every week.

It’s unknown who the father of the cubs is, since they were conceived via artificial insemination. The cubs are about 1/900th of the size of their mother, making them among the smallest newborn mammals compared to their mother. Now the cubs have fur with the distinct black and white panda bear pattern.

Er Shun and a male panda named Da Mao arrived from China in 2013 and are slated to move to the Calgary Zoo in 2018.