If you're going to be a predator you have to be able to hunt.
Carnivores like lions,
cheetahs,
foxes,
and coyotes have to learn somewhere.
Those skills begin as play for these little hunters
yearning to grow up to be like mom and dad.
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The vicious...
...ferocious...
...mighty lion.
These three cubs don't exactly live up to
their species reputation.
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Like all cats,
they are super playful when they are little.
They are happy go lucky.
They have no worries in life.
They have the protection of their parent,
so they are with their mother all the time.
So they don't have that aggression yet.
They're not serious yet.
The joys of being at the top of the food chain.
When lion cubs are born they're blind and can't even walk.
Compare that to a typical prey animal
like the gazelle and zebra.
Where babies can run as fast as adults
within 24 hours of being born.
But that doesn't mean that survival is easy.
Far from it.
The lioness has a very tough job of keeping her cubs alive.
She keeps them hidden and safe in a den
until they can walk and see.
Eagles, leopards and even buffalo
will try and kill the cubs if they get a chance.
At around 6 weeks old,
their mom introduces them to the rest of the pride.
She does this slowly, because any new males in the pride
might try and get rid of their competitions' offspring.
These three cubs live in a zoo,
so their father didn't have to fight off other big males,
but their dad, Kataley,
wasn't warm and fuzzy with them either.
Kataley's relationship with the cubs is a little different.
He's not fully embraced fatherhood yet,
but he's coming around.
It took him a little while to get used to these cubs.
He was terrified of them.
They would touch him and he would scream,
like they were killing him.
But he's slowly getting over that
and these cubs just love him.
They have no fear of him.
You know, these 60 pound guys, and he is a 500-pound lion,
they run headlong up to him,
and will throw themselves against his body,
and, Kataley will scoop them up
and he likes to open his mouth over their belly
to think he's trying to eat them but he's actually playing.
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In the wild,
the females in the pride will synchronize births
so that the cubs are born at the same time.
It's not just having a friend to play with;
it's another way to help them survive.
Smaller cubs are usually starved out by bigger cubs.
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In the wild, this is when they venture out on their own
to start a new family.
The males are massive and have intimidating manes,
but the female lions are the better hunters.
They're smaller and slight in the hips and legs,
but with extra bulk in their necks,
all traits that are already popping up
in this young female cub.
She's got a very strong personality.
She likes to stomp right up and spit at us and growl at us,
and that's exactly the personality
of the two adults females we have.
The two male cubs are much mellower.
They like to come up and see us,
but they're not as spity and growling as--
as the little females, they're-- they're more curious.
So whether it's by their parents, their siblings,
or other animals,
life isn't always easy for a lion cub.
In the wild, they have 80% chance of dying
before they reach the age of 2.
In captivity, that number is much smaller,
which might be why these lion cubs aren't worried about
looking tough and ferocious,
they're just having too much fun.
It would be a mistake to confuse these little guys
for puppy dogs.
They are their wild cousins, baby coyotes.
Full grown,
they will stand roughly a third the size of a grey wolf,
and potentially just as deadly and cunning a predator.
We had four babies this spring.
So, they are growing up really quickly.
And we can see already their fur is changing color.
Soon, their reddish coats would turn grey
just like their parents,
the alpha male and female in the pack.
Within the coyote hierarchy, only they are allowed to breed.
So it's always the best individuals
that have the babies to make sure
that babies are really good new coyotes in the pack also.
The main job for the pup's mother
is to feed and take care of her new litter.
Truly, a full-time job.
To make sure she keeps up her energy,
the other members in the pack all pitch in.
Each member of the pack take care of her,
and she's always really well-fed.
And then, there is the pup's father,
the undisputed leader of the pack and the family.
So the role of the alpha male is similar
to the role as the alpha female.
They'll always take care of all the babies in the litter
and also really--
as there are rules in the pack and really direct the pack.
But, at this point, all that matters to this pup
is cutting loose and having some fun.
Well, the coyote pups are really cute and funny.
They are always playing around.
And you see them,
like, running from one side of the enclosure to the other.
And also playing with their full-grown coyotes it's--
it's really-- life is easy and just for fun.
Very heavy on the easy.
Dad is becoming less a caregiver and more of a teacher,
slowly preparing them for the brutal life of a hunter.
These pups will need to learn if they were in the wild to--
wild to hunt.
It's quite a big thing to learn to survive wild.
And, also to know where to find food,
and where to go, where to not go, and--
life-- life in the forest.
Within the pack,
the pups need to learn their rightful place
and proper social behavior.
Sometimes,
the parents always need to do a little bit of discipline
on their pups.
They just need to learn to be--
to act correctly with rest of the pack,
so that they don't get pushed away, or--
just make sure that they go along altogether.
Once this pup learns to be a full-fledged hunter,
it'll primarily target small animals
which make up 90% of his diet.
It's hunting grounds will range from
roughly 1 square mile to 15 square miles,
depending on food availability.
To learn to work as a group,
these pups need to learn basic communication skills.
Even during playtime,
the parents are teaching them how to express themselves
through making noises and by using body language,
tactile signals and smells.
As an adult, this pup may at some point
decide to leave the safety of the pack.
If it does,
its chance of surviving will automatically drop
by as much as 25%.
But in the wild, under the care of the pack,
it might live to see its 14th birthday.
While other species like wolves have dropped in numbers,
these pups belong to a population on the rise.
While they once lived primarily in prairies and deserts,
their range has expanded to forest and mountains.
And now, as forests shrink,
their territory continues to expand...
...into cities.
No matter where they live these pups will do well
because they would've learned from their parents
how to be opportunistic and will eat just about anything.
Over the next few months,
these pups will learn valuable lessons
to protect them from those who would do them harm,
making them not only a skilled predator,
but also, the ultimate survivor.
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These baby cheetahs were born just six months ago.
This is their mum Mesa's third litter.
But for whatever reasons, she's abandoned these guys,
refusing to take care of them.
With cheetahs sometimes, moms aren't always that great,
they're sometimes--
they're lacking a bit of maternal instincts,
and they do actually abandon them quite often.
And unfortunately, that's what happened with this litter.
In the wild, a mother who has weak or sick babies
usually abandons them for a good reason.
You don't want weak cubs
that are bringing other predators towards the den
they can smell it.
But these cubs are quite healthy,
all three are brothers with very different personalities.
Matada is the little troublemaker.
He definitely tries to push all the boundaries
when he gets a chance.
Kanzi is the fearless explorer,
always the first one out to see what's going on.
He's the definite leader of the group.
The others actually rely on him quite a bit.
So when they get a bit worried or scared
they turn to Kanzi
and they stick with him for a bit of comfort and support.
Gorse is the affectionate one,
the real sweetheart of the group.
He's very affectionate and he loves cuddles,
and he gets jealous
if anyone else is getting too many cuddles
he comes over and tries to butt in and sit on your lap and--
he's a very lovable cub.
When all three were first born they looked very different.
Their eyes were closed tight so they couldn't see.
Their ears were folded back so they couldn't hear.
All they had to go by was their keen sense of smell.
Gradually, after a week or so,
they started taking their first steps,
learning how to use their tail for balance.
Watching them to sort of learn how to co-ordinate the tail
and all the feets and everything takes--
takes quite a bit of time and it's quite funny to watch.
When they finally reach adulthood,
their tail will measure as much as 2-1/2 feet,
roughly half their total body size.
Of course, like, climbing on things and--
and then realizing that the tail will actually help them balance
is pretty-- pretty neat to watch that little light bulb go off,
and then, gradually, they start using it a bit more.
With each new lesson learned,
the cubs continue gaining confidence,
which is important if you're going to be an apex predator.
They've gone from pretty much not being able to move
to what they are now like bounding around
and they can run faster
than what we can run in that kind of thing.
When they reach full size,
these baby cheetahs will be able to run nearly 65 miles an hour.
The secret to their speed is in their claws and their spine.
The brothers were born with semi-retractable claws
that they use for gripping the ground at high speed.
To help propel them forward,
their spine compresses and stretches like a spring.
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The cubs are bursting with energy.
Normally at this age,
their mom Mesa would be teaching them how to hunt.
But since she's turned her back on them,
their natural instincts have kicked in
and they are learning on their own.
It's all play but it's all preparing them for
when they have to survive by themselves,
and hunt and catch their own food.
In the wild,
Matada, Kanzi, and Goarse would feed on Thomson's gazelle
and smaller prey like guinea fowl and wild rabbits.
Even chasing after a leaf
that's teaching them something on how to hone their skills.
Learn how to chase after things and ambush and things like that.
Amongst themselves, their play is definitely on the rough side.
Especially first thing in the morning,
when I first go in,
they always hurtle around the enclosure at top speed,
and chasing each other and tripping each other up.
Which in the wild is exactly what they do
when they're chasing a baby springbok
or some other choice prey.
They trip it up, jump on it, and then, rip out its throat.
They learn it from such a young age
so that's probably the most important development stage
that they're going through now is learning how to survive,
basically.
They will also soon start to sort out
who is at the top of the pecking order.
Definitely I imagine Matada is going to be at the bottom,
just about what I've seen with his personality,
but, who knows it might change,
as they get older
their personalities always change.
In the wild, as a species,
Matada, Kanzi, and Goarse would be classified as vulnerable,
one step away from being in danger.
Under-population has forced massive inbreeding.
As a result, every cheetah today is related somehow,
and so, if you have a lot of animals in a species related
that means that you've got a lot issues with immune system
so pretty much a disease could just wipe out
a whole population of cheetah so easily.
In the future, these three guys or their cubs
could help keep the species alive.
It's really important to breed these species
unlike cheetah in-- in a captive environment,
because if something does happen out in the wild which--
with cheetah quite feasibly it could,
a disease could knock out a whole area of cheetah,
you might lose them for good.
So, it's really important that we do have a population here
that we are constantly breeding in a sustainable way.
So, what we're trying to do in-- in a captive environment
is to breed-- breed a group of cheetah
that are really strong, robust,
and we're trying to outbreed their inbreeding.
So if something does happen
we can actually introduce cheetah back into the wild
and they'll actually survive.
And in the wilds of Africa, Matada, Kanzi, and Goarse
would be able to tap in to the vital lessons they've learned
on their way to becoming the world's fastest predator.
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The silver fox has a fierce, independent spirit.
This female for example has gone against Mother Nature
about the right time to reproduce.
Foxes aren't suppose to have babies until they're about 2,
but Franny, well, she had other ideas.
Franny is the silver fox mother, she's a great mother.
She didn't read the page in the book that said
foxes aren't suppose to reproduce in their first year.
So we were a little worried about her,
this being her first litter and she is young,
but she's being a really good mom.
She cares for the kids really well,
they're all very healthy,
she seems to mitigate any family squabbles that go down,
so, she's a good mom.
The female will mate with several different males
but only one gets to become her long-term partner.
In this case,
Franny has settled down with Frisco.
Franny and Frisco are brand new parents.
A silver fox litter is usually between three and six kids,
but it can be as large as 14.
There are four silver fox kids, they're 4 weeks old,
they're all brothers.
They each right now weigh about a pound, two pounds.
Their names are Fee, Fi, Fo and Fum, all Fs.
And they love playing around their enclosure,
they love bugging their parents.
And they're generally pretty active,
but during the afternoon they all curl up in their den
and have a nice nap.
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Franny and Frisco have different parenting styles.
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As the mother, Franny is in the tranches with her kids,
breaking up fights
and making sure everyone is playing nicely together.
She's hands-on and very involved.
She is a young mother but she's a natural.
Frisco tends to keep more to the sidelines.
He's not quite as involved
but he's constantly on the lookout
for any threats to his kids.
In the wild,
coyotes and wolves are known for snatching baby foxes.
But these kids are safe here in the zoo.
At this age, they are rambunctious,
full of energy and ridiculously cute.
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When it's feeding time,
they all pile in at once and trying to get some food
so they're all tumbling all over each other
and falling,
and they're pretty cute to watch
'cause they're not too coordinated yet,
so they roll and they fall
and they love playing with each other
and they love trying to all get a piece of the best food
so that's pretty cute.
And they also, whenever they're coming up to each other,
or you're trying to go into the pen to pet them
and they don't wanna be pet,
they'll come over and they'll stamp their feet
and they'll growl at you
and they think they are pretty tough.
In order to hunt properly,
foxes need to learn how to move quickly and stealthily.
And their education starts early.
If they were in the wild right now,
they'll definitely be starting to learn
all of their coordination skills,
so quick moving, a little bit of stalking,
some pouncing, stuff like that,
and they would be practicing that on small insects,
things that are on the ground,
and of course, they'll be watching everything
that their parents do.
Small mammals and foxes, especially,
learn a lot from their parents when they're very young.
So they're gonna be watching their parents,
seeing what they're doing
and that's gonna be a huge impact for them
in terms of learning the skills they'll need later on in life.
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Their sharp hearing helps them find their prey
and leap directly into the air to kill it.
But because they are opportunist,
silver foxes can survive on whatever food is available.
Hunting doesn't just mean stalking a mouse in the grass,
that means taking an egg,
if they can find a clutch of eggs on the ground somewhere,
things like that.
And fox are opportunist,
so anything that they can find that will give them that edge,
they'll do it.
If it can't locate any meat,
the silver fox can survive on plants, worms and bugs.
When it has too much food,
it will bury it in the ground for later.
If they watch their parents closely and pay attention,
these kids should be able to hunt on their own
in about 6 months.
Generally, their mother is going to have the strongest impact
on the kids' life
just because she's around them the most
but both parents are very involved
in the upbringing of the fox kids,
so both of them will have a huge input
in what they'll learn
and what they'll carry on through later in life
and the skills they'll need.
So, with input from mom and dad,
eventually these little silver foxes
will become little hunters.
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These little hunters are on their way to being big hunters.
In the wild, these cubs and pups
will be pouncing on prey in no time.
Learning the ropes from their parents
and the rest of their packs,
these creatures are born to hunt.
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