Adorable lion cubs make their debut at Mogo Wildlife Park
Two adorable lion cubs have been added to the Mogo Wildlife Park family and are loving playing chase together and generally being ‘goofy’
READING LEVEL: GREEN
For anyone who needs a serotonin* boost* or just wants to look at something cute, then feast* your eyes on these two adorable lion cubs, who are yet to be named.
Back in November last year, the Mogo Wildlife Park down the south coast of NSW welcomed twin boy cubs, who are now 14 weeks old.
Their zookeeper Chad Staples told The Daily Telegraph that their personalities were already shining through*.
“The one with darker spots, he’s far more independent and the lighter one loves to stick close to mum,” he said.
“They’re at that perfect age now and people just love them. They’re adorable, they do goofy stuff, they fall over, and they play together.
“Especially because they’re two boys, they’ve started rough-housing*. They wrestle, play and chase. But of course because they’re so little and uncoordinated*, they’ll fall over and trip. Just all of that fun stuff you see from babies.”
Their dad Baaku isn’t safe from their shenanigans as Mr Stapes said the boys are often seen trying to bite dad’s tail, but it’s all in good fun.
“It’s just a special time and you get stuck there for a long time each day. It’s hard to get work done,” he said.
Despite having hand-reared* their half-sister Maji from birth, Mr Staples is happy to leave the boys with their parents Evelyn and Baaku.
"(Maji’s)mum had died during childbirth, so I had to quickly step in, but absolutely the plan is for the boys to stay with mum. She can do a way better job than I can," he said.
GLOSSARY
- serotonin: a chemical in the body that helps regulate mood and happiness
- boost: to increase or improve
- feast: to enjoy or indulge in something, often with great pleasure
- shining through: becoming apparent or noticeable
- rough-housing: playing in a rough or boisterous manner
- uncoordinated: lacking co-ordination or skill in movement
- shenanigans: playful or mischievous behaviour
- hand-reared: raised or cared for by human hand from a very young age
EXTRA READING
Adorable new cubs born at Victorian zoo
Taronga lyrebird mimics lion alarm
Lion with mullet causes uproar in Chinese zoo
QUICK QUIZ
- What are the names of the lion parents at Mogo Wildlife Park?
- How old are the lion cubs mentioned in the article?
- Describe the personalities of the two lion cubs as mentioned by their zookeeper.
- Why does the zookeeper prefer to leave the lion cubs with their mother instead of hand-rearing them?
- Why was Maji hand-reared?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Pick a name
What names do you think would be good for the two cubs? Perhaps you think the names should be funny. Maybe you think old-fashioned names would be cute. Or do you want the names to have a special meaning behind them?
Choose your favourite names for the two cubs and write an explanation for why these are the best choices. Can you convince the Mogo Wildlife Park to pick the names you’ve suggested?
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Choose one of your name suggestions to write an acrostic poem for. Your poem should capture the cuteness and playful nature of the cubs.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any "said" words with more specific synonyms?
Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.