Belgium
A lion killed her vaccinated cubs
An Asiatic lion mauled two of its cubs to death at a zoo in Mechelen.
Published
Lorena, a lioness from Blackendale Zoo, killed her 8-week-old cubs.
Facebook/Zoo Plackendael
At the Blackandale Zoo in Mechelen, Belgium, a lion killed two of its cubs. This can be a reaction to the vaccine.
The zoo announced Monday that the two cubs, born last April, were bitten by their mother, Lorena. The zoo said the lion “did not accept them after the required vaccination”.
Both pups have been vaccinated against panleukopenia or feline typhus. Following an international protocol, the cubs were vaccinated against this deadly disease when they were 8 weeks old.
“With the African lions, everything has always gone well. With the Asiatic lions, this mother, perhaps more sensitive, decided otherwise. The keepers are heartbroken,” the zoo said.
In nature, precise 7 out 7, lions can kill their cubs if they are sick or weak. “In this way, they no longer invest unnecessary energy in these juveniles and immediately focus on new matings,” explains the Belgian park.
Lioness Lorena already killed one of her cubs two years ago. But she generally raised three in 2016.
The zoo said it is investigating “potential alternatives” to this vaccine for the future.
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