Lion cubs named after Olympic golden girls (From St Helens Star)

Lion cubs named after Olympic golden girls

8:00pm Tuesday 21st August 2012 in News

THESE newborn lion cubs are set to make their first brave steps into the limelight at Knowsley Safari Park - after being named in honour of two Team GB Olympic golden girls.

Park bosses are predicting eight-week-olds, Jessica and Victoria, will be a roaring success.

Already the sisters – named after gold medal winning heptathlete Jessica Ennis and cyclist Victoria Pendleton – are melting the hearts of keepers and visitors to the 550-acre park.

They will spend a few more weeks with their mother Jasmine in a specially designed ‘suite’ and paddock, before being officially integrated into the pride.

The cubs have been in isolation since birth, but are now being slowly introduced to the bigger lions in the pride through a protective fence.

They weigh in at 12lb and are already heavier than a fully grown domestic cat.

Soon they will be given a full health check, vaccinations and be micro-chipped.

At 13 weeks they will have their final jabs, and once strong and healthy enough they will be introduced into the pride.

Olly O’Malley, lionkeeper at Knowsley Safari Park, said: “We are always excited about new additions to the pride and watching their individual personalities develop.”

The cubs are the latest animals to be named after Olympic heroes. Last week the Star reported how a baby wildebeest had been called Wiggins to mark the success of cyclist Bradley Wiggins.