White lion cubs born in game reserve

Nomathemba, the white lioness at the African Pride Pumba Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, showed her litter of three cubs to the world for the first time on Sunday, 29 September 2013.

3 Oct 2013

Nomathemba is a pure white lioness that was rehabilitated and released into the main area of the reserve in October 2011. The cubs were sired by the reserve's first rehabilitated male white lion, Themba, who was moved to the reserve at the age of 18 months to establish his own territory and start a breeding programme of these special big cats.

Dale Howarth, who was instrumental in the rehabilitation process of rehabilitating and relocating the white lions, spotted the cubs while on a game drive in the vicinity of the den. "Mum Nomathemba ventured out of the den with her three cubs in tow. The sighting lasted a mere five minutes, but was a very touching and emotional experience because we've waited a very long time for this special birth."

A good mother

"The sex of the three cubs will only be evident at approximately six months. The cubs will now start venturing out of their den more often and are set to become extremely playful as they learn more about their surroundings. Nomathemba is an excellent mother and very protective over her cubs, that'll only start nibbling on meat from the age of 12 weeks," says Howarth.

African Pride Hotels Group marketing manager Nicholas Barenblatt says the cubs are a welcome addition to a reserve that is doing brilliant work in the global conservation arena with this breeding programme. "The reserve and its lodges are already world-class in anyone's book, and these furry new additions will only make visiting this wonderful location an even better experience."

The game reserve's white lion programme started soon after the reserve opened in 2005 and the first ones were rehabilitated in a 900ha camp where they were taught to hunt and fend for themselves. These three cubs are the first pure white cubs to be born since the mating pair of Themba and Nomathemba were released into the main reserve. Pumba Private Game Reserve is one of only two reserves world-wide where free-roaming, self-sustaining white lions can be viewed in their natural environment.