Mild winter temperatures allowed Woodland Park Zoo’s 2½-month-old, triplet lion cubs to take their first steps outdoors in the public exhibit yesterday, Tuesday, January 6. The cubs, all males, were accompanied outdoors by 5-year-old mother Adia (ah-DEE-uh) and 7-year-old father Xerxes.

The outdoor adventure, which lasted an hour, marked the first of a series of introduction sessions that will continue over the next couple of months. “Putting the family outdoors will be dependent on the weather and how well they adjust to being outdoors. We estimate it will be late February or early March before we can establish a consistent viewing schedule. Before then, seeing the cubs on exhibit will be a hit and miss, but a lucky, opportunity for zoo-goers,” explained Martin Ramirez, Woodland Park Zoo’s mammal curator.

The cubs have been living in an off-view maternity den where they can bond and grow in quiet surroundings since their birth in October. Introductions between the father and cubs in the off-view enclosure, which began only a few weeks ago, were successful because of the strong bond between Xerxes and Adia, said Ramirez.

“Going outdoors is another important milestone for the cubs. They kept Adia on her toes as they pounced, stalked, played and explored the outdoor elements for the first time,” said Ramirez. “Adia continues to show excellent mothering skills by keeping a close eye on each cub, and Xerxes’ interactions remain positive. We’re very pleased with the first introduction.”

The zoo plans to announce a public naming for the nameless cubs next week. Visit the zoo’s blog at bit.ly/1ACObmc for photos of the cubs’ first day outside.

Xerxes arrived last spring from El Paso Zoo to be paired with Adia under a breeding recommendation by the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for African lions. Adia arrived in 2010 from Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, in Ohio. SSPs are a complex system that matches animals in North American zoos based on genetic diversity and demographic stability. Pairings also take into consideration the behavior and personality of the animals.

Woodland Park Zoo’s lions belong to the South African subspecies, Panthera leo krugeri. Known as the Transvaal lion, it ranges in Southern Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest belt, in grassy plains, savanna and open woodlands.

As few as 32,000 African lions are estimated to remain in the wild and their future remains uncertain. The three main threats facing African lions at this time are habitat loss, loss of prey base and increased human-lion conflict. Woodland Park Zoo supports the Ruaha Carnivore Project, which focuses on the importance of predators to healthy ecosystems, through the Lion Species Survival Plan Conservation Campaign. To help support the project, adopt a lion through the zoo’s ZooParent Adoption Program: www.zoo.org/zooparent/lion.

Zoo winter hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. Visit www.zoo.org for more information.