Keepers at a German zoo are struggling to figure out why a lioness suddenly ate her two cubs just days after giving birth to them.
The five-year-old lioness, named Kigali, had given birth to a pair of cubs Friday at Leipzig Zoo. Kigali was reportedly behaving normally up until Monday night when, while grooming the duo, she suddenly swallowed them whole.
A spokesman at Leipzig Zoo told the Daily Mail that everyone was “shocked” by the deaths, and there has been no explanation for the sudden attack. A possible cause was that the cubs has some sort of developmental disability or were ill. Another explanation is that the lioness was simply confused and didn’t know how to handle her children.
“It happens in the animal kingdom again and again, that mothers kill their kittens — especially with first-time mothers,” the spokesman explained.
