Japan goes ga-ga over baby lion.

Japan goes ga-ga over baby lion.
Monday, 31 March, 2008
Meet Japan's latest animal star. The five-kilo baby lion-cub, born only a month ago on February 11, is greeted with squeals and coos from the crowds at the Zoorasia Yokohama zoological gardens at every public appearance he makes. "He was so cute. I cannot say anything more," said 33-year-old Yuri Horiuchi, one of hundreds of visitors at one of his twice a week public showings, who jokingly added that the lion cub was cuter than her two daughters. "I am glad that I can take many photographs of the baby lion before he grows much, much bigger in just a short time," added 10-year-old Natsumi Yoshida. While some other animals may pout at all the fuss surrounding him, this little cub may deserve most of it. Rare species The tiny lion cub is of a rare subspecies of lions called the Asiatic lion. Only 350 individuals are known to survive in the wild and are distinct from the African lions seen in most zoos. The last of the Asiatic lions now mostly live in the state of Gujarat, India therefore going by the name of "Indian lion" in Japan. Once king of the animal kingdom from the Mediterranean to the borders of Bangladesh, this big cat has been hunted for sport, killed by farmers trying to protect their livestock and basically chased from their habitats by humans to the point of being now critically endangered. For the zoo keepers in Yokohama, 45 kilometres outside the Japanese capital Tokyo, this new born pussy cat deserves the full star treatment. It is, after all, also the first Asiatic lion cub born country. "His mother is not only unaccustomed to raising a child but also a bit too old as a lion to raise a child. Yet to be named So after discussions, we decided to raise him by ourselves because it would enhance his survival probability," said Shunichiro Tajima, one of the zoo keepers in charge of the lion cub. But while it is just about starting taking baby steps to being the carnivore it is, with its first small morsel of horse meat eaten recently, this kitty is still just a little ball of fur and prefers to lap up specially-treated cat's milk from its trainer. It has, however, no name yet. Zoo officials have set aside three already – Suraj, Dost and Raja (meaning respectively "sun", "friend' and "king" in Hindi) but are asking the public to make the final decision in a vote on March 31st.