2012
17 March: We’ve finished redecorating their new home and have a new favourite spot: they decided that one of the smaller trees in their enclosure is the best hangout spot and they spend most of their time hidden underneath this tree that provides quite a bit of shade on the hot days we are experiencing lately. Shaka is continuing his new habit of being a loner, only showing love to Coby. He might come down with the rest to greet us when we arrive, but is quick to disappear back into the bush. Mika and Mona are very friendly but are still having difficulties learning how to behave around us – they still sneak a bite here and there. Skyla and Coby are definitely Seaview lions – always happy to see us and interact with us. Coby is quite a jealous boy and comes to whoever is paying attention to another lion, while Skyla usually picks one or two people and stick to them throughout the visit.
27 February: They’ve settled in completely by now. Skyla is more loving than ever and is always so excited and happy to see us. Coby is still Skyla’s shadow and follows her every footstep. Mika is cheekier than ever and we always need to keep an eye on her, as she acts all nice and loving and then tries to sneak a bite. Mona is calm and quiet but gets influenced by Mika from time to time, so she just needs to be reminded to behave and then she’s all good again. Shaka is the only one that changed his character – he is now a loner who sits on his own, not really looking for company. The only one he still really loves is Coby, which is nice to see as they’ll be moving together to their own enclosure in about a year’s time.
7 January: The ‘wild’ 3 have calmed down a lot since they were moved in with the 2 big ones, and behave much better these days. Now it is a common sight to see one of the 3 sitting in a volunteer’s lap or coming up to greet us when we walk in. Coby had a huge ego boost with the 3 keeping him company – he is now starting to realise how big and strong he really is. He always gets the first pick of meat during feeding and never shares his piece. It seems that he and Shaka have been growing closer together and are sharing a special bond; the two boys can often be seen sitting side by side, simply enjoying each other’s company. Shaka tries to sneak a bite every now and then while we are busy cuddling one of the other cubs, but Mona and Mika are turning out to be more loving. Skyla hasn’t really changed that much, as she was a very confident strong girl to begin with. However, she is sometimes not quick enough at feeding time and is left to get the last pick, or has to share with one of the younger ones. All 5 know how to climb to the top of the shack now, where they all squeeze together. Another new trick they seem to enjoy, is jumping up in the air and catching one of the big tires that is hanging high up – Mona and Mika excel at that move, while the other 3 are not so good, with Coby being the clumsiest one of them all.
2011
21 December: Last weekend we joined the three wild ones with Coby and Skyla, and all five are now sharing the top enclosure. We anticipated this move, and to ensure that it will go smoothly, we started allowing them supervised playtime together about 4 months ago. Mona, Mika and Shaka were a bit scared leaving their enclosure at first, so we opened up for Coby and Skyla to come down to them. After a short greeting session all five came back up to the top enclosure. That evening they were fed together for the first time. Surprisingly Coby turned out to be the dominant one, taking a whole leg for himself. Mika and Mona each got a leg and Shaka and Skyla ended up sharing. The next feeding day the same thing happened again. On the last feeding day Skyla didn’t even get to share and had to try and steal a leg from one of the youngsters. The group is now being fed every other day. Another challenge to the little ones was to learn how to climb onto the green hut’s roof. It took them a few days, but they have now mastered the art and poor Coby and Skyla can’t get a moment to themselves, as the little ones keep following them around. Although they got the climbing-up part under control, they still need to learn how to stay up without falling down. The other day Mona was on the roof, trying to cuddle with the rest of the group, but ended up slipping down. She was half asleep, and she was so lazy that she just kept on sleeping; giving the volunteers a good fright thinking something was wrong with her! The three younger ones no longer go out for a walk, because it is too difficult to separate them from Coby and Skyla.
28 November: Coby and Skyla are now back to being fed every second day instead of every third day. These guys are growing fast now, so we thought we’ll give them a boost with some extra feedings for a while. The two still spend all their time together, and if you cuddle one, you’ll find the other coming straight over – not clear if they are jealous of each other or of us, as they are still so much in love. Not too long now and they will be getting some new roommates – the three younger ones will be joining them, so girls and boys will have a chance to bond before being separated on moving day that is still far away.
8 November: Coby and Skyla are still very good babies, showing lots of affection to us and to the guests who go into their enclosure with them. Coby still gets scared very easily, while Skyla is still the inquisitive and brave one. They are very jealous of the attention the other one gets and will even try to push each other out of the way and get more attention.
Skyla and Coby playing in a tree (22 July 2011)
Skyla with her new toys (May 2011)
1 November: The two teenagers were being a little stubborn last week and didn’t want to leave the babies after we put them together. In the end we had to pick them up and carry them back to their own enclosure. They are still getting a horse leg to share every three days, which they now finish the same night.
25 October: Coby and Skyla are starting to look like real teenagers now. Coby’s mane is starting to get some body and is looking impressive. They just had their month birthday on Saturday. Skyla is also continuing to get darker in colour especially in her face. They are still eating one leg every 3 days and are weighing in at about 50-60kg. They are also still very loving towards the babies and love spending time with them.
18 October: These 2 have had a busy week!! It was decided that we would start allowing the 2 of them to spend far more time with the 3 little ones and it couldn’t have gone better. In the morning after the babies have had there walk and finished the breakfast rib the gates between the two enclosures are opened and Coby and Skyla go tearing down to see the babies. Coby straight away goes to find Shaka and the boys rough and tumble starts! Skyla is a little more unlucky as the 2 little girls pick on her, fortunately she is faster and can get away quickly.
12 October: Coby seems to becoming more and more independent and doesn’t rely on Skyla as much as he used to. They are now getting fed every 3rd day but seems like they are quite skinny looking lions so we might be adding an extra feed just to make sure they are getting enough. They are good friends with the three babies now and soon enough all five will be put together in the top enclosure.
3 October: Coby is starting to get a bit more brave then he used to and will come up to you even if his sister, Skyla, is busy with something else. They got a huge leg the other day and it took them about two days to finish it off, so now they are fat and happy. They met up with the babies again last week and it went very well. Yesterday we had a cool wet day and the two were just super active, playing along the whole time, so by the end of the day Skyla’s fur had changed colours to brown!
27 September: Coby and Skyla met the three babies again last Monday night. We had very strong winds here that caused the corridor gates to open and the 2 groups merged to one and had a long playtime session all through the night. When we got up here Tuesday morning we discovered all 5 in the bottom enclosure: Skyla running around all excited, the 2 little girls watching her while the 2 boys were sitting still on the platform looking all confused. They are getting fed every 3rd or 4th day – depending what they are getting.
20 September: Coby and Skyla had a funny morning on Sunday when a few volunteers went in to spend time with them and got attacked by the monkeys. Both volunteers and cubs were found in the far end part of the enclosure, hiding from the monkeys until Dean and Tian came to the rescue. Earlier this week we introduced cubs and babies: we opened the passageway and led cubs into babies enclosure, at 1st the 3 little ones were fascinated by Skyla but after a few minutes Coby and Shaka started to play with each other and a bit after that it was just a mass of older babies and younger babies having fun. We’ll be keeping up with this supervised play time so when the day comes the 2 boys can be put together and so will the 3 girls, ensuring none of them will be left alone as adults.
12 September: These two are getting bigger by the day and are around 60kg already! After suffering from a bit of a runny tummy last week, they are back to normal now. As they are almost 9 months old they are now being fed half a leg each every 3rd day. The 1st time they got the leg Coby- who is a bit of a scaredy cat as it is – ran away but then came back to enjoy his meat. Skyla on the other hand, went straight for it, dragging it around a bit until she realised she is playing with her food and started eating.
5 September: These two cubs are thriving and are still behaving really well. Coby is still a very big baby and gets scared very easily. Skyla is still very much in love with the three babies and we are considering bringing the two litters together. The weather is starting to get a lot warmer now and soon we will start giving them ice lollies to help cool them down.
29 August: Coby and Skyla are both well. Coby was being a bit fussy with his food for the last few days but Skyla didn’t mind this as she was then stealing his food for a change. Skyla also decided to try and climb one of the trees in their enclosure but wasn’t very successful and ended up falling out the tree. Luckily she wasn’t very high up, but Coby was close by when this happened – and when he saw her he ran over to her almost as if to console her.
23 August: Coby and Skyla are doing extremely well and getting really big now. They are weighing in at about 55-60kg now. They are also very interested in their new neighbours: Shaka, Mika and Mona and are constantly sitting down at the gate watching them play around. Skyla is so interested in the babies that she leaves her food to go and watch them play. Coby loves this as he then steals her food.
15 August: Coby and Skyla began a new feeding schedule last week. They now get 1.5 kg of steak for breakfast and dinner. It took them a few days to get used to their new feeding schedule, but now they seem to enjoy eating their bigger portions of steaks. They are still very playful and love to stalk each – and the volunteers. Skyla is getting very good at climbing trees and Coby loves jumping for his tyre. The beautiful weather lately has attracted many guests to come visit the park. Coby and Skyla have been behaving beautifully for the guests who visit them and enjoy all the petting and belly rubs.
8 August: Coby and Skyla have had a change to their diet; at 7 months old they’re on 2 meals big meals a day, munching on 1.5kg steaks intead of ribs for dinner. Although they were a little unsure at first with what to do with such a large piece of meat (“do I lick it?”) they quickly devoured their steaks! Skyla changed from white to black in the rain of last week, jumping in any mud puddle she could find then excitedly greeting visitors with her muddy paws
1 August: Skyla and Coby seem to be pushing their boundaries lately to see what they are able to achieve on their own. Coby has taken to climbing trees and then playing with the branches within his reach, while Skyla has claimed his rooftop as her domain this last week!
25 July: The cubs are having a blast in the rain that’s lasted the past few days. They have been well behaved during the handlings in this chilly weather. Guests who braved the cold rain were able to see these two wrestling and playing around their enclosure.
18 July: Coby and Skyla have been pretty busy lately with all the attention from school holiday visitors and Billabong surfers. They are loving the playtime with so many new visitors. Coby has claimed the roof of the shelter in their enclosure as his personal domain and takes all his toys up there when he wants to play. Skyla has been using the big tyres on the ground as a bed and can be found there, basking in the sunshine.
11 July: Coby and Skyla are doing very well. They weigh between 40 and 50 kilograms, and have been eating really well. They love their food. At just over 6-months-old, Coby’s mane is starting to develop. They’re still enjoying the relatively new space (where the Big 4 were) but need to improve on their walking techniques.
4 July: Coby and Skyla have recently been very naughty on their walks. They have been getting more laps of better quality but still insist on running off at every opportunity. They have found a way to get under the Boardwalk and love to visit Adam and Jagger every morning. It has been decided to slowly introduce the four of them, as we eventually would like to move them into one enclosure.
27 June: Skyla and Coby had a big move last week. They are now in the Big 4’s old enclosure. The first few days were quite a shock for these two playful cubs, who weren’t sure what to do with all the space or new toys they were given. Now they are enjoying their new big lion toys and making some new friends with the other animals they haven’t had an opportunity to meet yet. Coby spends a lot of his time trying to watch Adam and Jagger at play, while Skyla likes sunning herself on the platform and climbing trees. Both are getting bigger and bigger by the day and Coby is even looking a little fuzzy around his head and neck. Skyla started climbing onto the corrugated iron house roof and almost teasing Coby who has now caught on and started climbing too. Both cubs are looking healthy and funfilled.
14 June: We have had quite a bit of rain the last week and the cubs have loved it. They were usually spotted wrestling in the mud and at one point all you could see of Skyla’s beautiful coat was her white face. She’s not afraid of playing in the mud or being chased by Coby for stealing the ball away from him. The weather over the weekend was gorgeous and gave the cubs a chance to catch up on lying around in the sun.
6 June: The babies are great — still growing day by day and they have been behaving really well this last week. The walks have been getting much better now as well and the most laps that the volunteers have been able to get them to do so far is six. Every morning the number of laps grows. Next month their feedings will change and they will start getting little steaks as well instead of a rib in the evening. Coby is still a very cute and sweet baby boy and Skyla is getting more and more beautiful by the day as everybody always said she was a ugly baby. Agg shame!
31 May: The cubs have been very playful this week, but due to some bad weather they didn’t get a couple a walks and so got a little irritated with one another. Coby – despite his increasing size – also still sucks on Skyla’s ear, which annoys her! On Sunday, a book fell down next to Skyla, and scared her so that she roared really loudly. It made everyone in the restaurant come out to see who made so much noise. Coby now weighs in at 31kg after a bit of a growth spurt and Skyla weighs 30kg, although Skyla still looks bigger than Coby.
23 May: The babies are doing very well. They started making a lot of trouble on their walks this past week. They became very curious and at the end of the walk they get really close to the Big 4. We needed help a few times this week from Delano or Dean to get them back to their enclosure. On Tuesday they didn’t touch their ribs in the morning for some reason, but have eaten well every day since. The volunteers built a swing for the cubs to play with but for the first day they were really scared of it and wouldn’t get near it, now they love it!
12 May: The babies are doing great. Skyla is looking much bigger and fatter while Coby is still trying to catch up. They are playful as ever. On their last walk Coby tried to get up Skyla’s usual tree without much success but we’re sure he will get it down soon enough.
We’ve noticed that without Pinny here the babies have changed their ways a bit. They won’t sleep in the same places and spend time in other parts of the enclosure, but other than that there are doing really well. Coby has some big shoes to fill in terms of playing rough with Skyla as she was used to play like that with Pinny. The babies got new toys this week and they are loving them!
Coby is getting big! (May 2011)
5 May: We’ve been extra alert with Coby and Skyla following Pinny’s death. So far, they seem to be doing very well. They have been eating normally and playing together as they usually do, which is a relief. We weighed them this week- Coby is 21 kg and Skyla is 24 kg. We will continue to monitor them carefully.
Skyla and Coby as of 12 January 2011
4 May: SAD NEWS: We have had a very sad and tearful day. We have lost one of our little cubs: Pinny (pictured below) – who was just five-months-old. Pinny died as a result of contracting Tetanus, and despite being under the care of a vet since Monday, who’d reported that he was getting stronger. We are all just devastated. Says Janice Gibb: “We were hoping for a recovery and because he wasn’t getting worse the vet at the animal hospital gave us real hope. He had pee’d and poo’d last evening and she considered that progress. She had saved a domestic kitten from Tetanus in January. She had him on a drip and was keeping him on a light tranquilliser to avoid stress. She was lovely to him. We thought “thank goodness for someone who cares!” But that wasn’t enough to save him. He was fine at 10pm and during the night he had a seizure. Poor Pinny.” R.I.P Pinny. 
Pinny at one-month-old, back in December 2010
25 April: These 3 cubs are all very playful and loving. They are still on ribs for breakfast, cut up steak for lunch and ribs for dinner. Skyla has begun climbing on the walks, and she gets high into the trees then squeals and slides all the way down making lots of noise. Her eyes are still a mud brown / green colour. Coby gets picked on a lot by Pinny — they are always wrestling each other. Skyla likes to walk around the back of people and try sneak up on us while we are cleaning. Pinny’s black end of his tail has been half chewed off – not sure by who! Coby also got a nice electric shock from the enclosure of the big four cubs while he was rubbing against the fence – not a happy boy!
13 April: These little cubs are getting more and more curious by the day. On Monday we decided to revamp their enclosure a little bit by planting some fresh green grass that had been dug up from a different area of the park. We thought it would be a good idea to do this early while they were sleeping but it didn’t take long for them to wake up and realise that there was something new happening in their house and decided that it would be fun to try and pull out the fresh grass that we had just planted. Luckily most of the grass is still in the ground and not strewn around their enclosure. They will also soon be getting a new wooden structure in their enclosure that will provide a lot more shade for them so that they can escape the hot midday sun. Pinny is getting very big now and is still very glad to see us and always comes running the minute we sit down in the enclosure. Coby is growing stronger by the day – he even fought off Pinny for his rib last night after which he ran off proudly to the platform with his head held high where he finished eating on top of the platform as if to say, ‘I’m the king of the castle!’ Skyla is also getting darker – and as she grows her eyes are now a very dark brown and her fur is no longer a clean white colour but there is a lot of darker brown hairs coming through.
4 April: These babies are becoming gorgeous little lions. Skyla and Coby had their last bottle today and their feeding schedule will change to the same as Pinny’s – a rib in the morning, a bowl of meat at 12:00pm and another rib at 5: 30pm. All walk very well and have the same spots they love to jump in the bushes and stalk each other and climb trees. Pinny is a much better climber than when he started! Skyla and Coby are still too small to climb trees yet. Handlings are very popular with them as school holidays just started on Friday, and all are developing their personalities a lot more. Pinny still remains the bully at playtime but the protector of the smaller 2 (like when a big scary bus rolls up into the car park). Coby is clumsy and very, very vocal, while Skyla usually always gets her way and is ready to play with the boys and is not afraid to use her claws on them!
30 March: Coby and Skyla are doing very well and are nearly 20 kilos. Skyla is still very sweet and is always ready to give affection, while Coby seems always awake and playful with everyone who walks in. He has a very gorgeous face and always makes people laugh with the silly things he does on walks and at feeding time as he is very clumsy, while Skyla is a perfect eater and her eyes are turning a hazel brown colour.
22 March: Skyla and Coby are big babies now. They are on 900 grams of meat in the morning, a bottle for lunch and a rib at night. All the volunteers miss the second bottle-feed but the babies are quite happy with the meat. They are always dirty and it is hard to tell that Skyla is a white lion since she’s usually almost as brown as her brother. This week we gave them some toys and there is now a soccer game going on in their enclosure every day. The babies usually win since they hold on to the ball and never let go (which we call cheating).
15 March: Skyla and Coby are both gorgeous and all well. Skyla weighs 16kgs while Coby weighs 15kgs. He is now having 800 grams of meat for breakfast while Skyla is still staying on 600grams until he catches up on weight. Soon they will be off the bottle so we are changing their feed to just one bottle a day to phase it out. Coby is usually leader of the pack on the walks, and Skyla a little more adventurous.
8 March: These babies are doing very well and are now 11-weeks-old. They are having 600 grams of meat in the morning, 2 bottles during the day and a full rib at nighttime. They walk very well but get easily distracted and love to wrestle and play in the bushes. Coby is finally eating properly and eats his meat much quicker. Skyla usually sleeps while the boys play around. As they walk past the serval enclosure, the cubs try to stalk Galia and MacCormick, and they love to scream to the 4 cubs through the fence.
1 March: Skyla and Coby are doing very well. Today they went to the vet for their 2nd lot of vaccinations. Skyla is a very good eater and loves both the meat and the bottle, and since yesterday Coby has begun to enjoy eating meat as long as it doesn’t have porridge on it! He is a little smaller because he hasn’t been eating all of his morning meat meals but hopefully now he will pick up a little more weight and catch up to Skyla. Yesterday we gave both of them a bath as they were very dirty, and Skyla didn’t mind while Coby made lots of noise and fuss!
23 February: These babies are growing so fast; they now weigh 8 kilos and are going on to 9 weeks of age. Coby is a fussy eater when it comes to the bowl of meat in the morning, but when they get their ribs at night time they eat like proper lions and shake it around and jump on it and chew away. During this week Skyla and Coby were used for an advertisement video shoot for Port Elizabeth and they did very well.
16 February: Coby and Skyla are doing really well. Skyla seems constantly dirty as she is so white and always rolling around in the dirt playing with her brother and Pinny. They are still walking every morning and evening but becoming more adventurous. Both love to chat with Adam and Jagger and the big 4 cubs on their walks and scream and call to them. Skyla loves the meat while Coby prefers the bottle. They are on a bowl of meat in the morning, 2 bottles during the day and a rib at night time. Coby makes so much noise before feeding he runs around screaming and screaming at everyone!
7 February: These small babies are so very cute and doing just fine. Both got their injections so have started handlings with children and are doing very well. They are now on 2 bottles and 2 small bowls of meat with porridge a day and love the meat! Coby, Skyla and Pinny are all walking together doing 2 laps in the morning and 2 laps in the evening and are really great walkers. They now weigh around 6 kilos (13.2 pounds). Skyla’s eyes are changing to a darker grey/browny colour and Coby and Pinny are often found wrestling around while Skyla observes.
2 February: Skyla and Coby are doing fantastically. We are starting to notice their personalities a little more, and Skyla is very content and relaxed and sweet and will happily sit in our laps and lick her paws, while Coby is much more active and wriggles everywhere and makes a lot of noise! Both are getting baby ribs at nighttime now, and Coby is still on the milk mixture without eggs. Both are getting their injections tomorrow at the vets, as they are 6-weeks-old.
25 January: Skyla and Coby are doing great and have now moved permanently in with Uncle Pinny. He is a great Uncle and gives them loads of attention and playtime. He doesn’t pick on them too much however when he does, the younger babies do hold their own. Skyla is on cub milk, however Coby is on half kitty milk – half a cub mixture without eggs as we believe he is allergic to them so we are trying this combination for now. He is taking it very well so we are happy and are monitoring his progress.
Gorgeous little Skyla (18 Jan)
Come, Cub! (18 Jan)
18 January: Skyla and Coby are growing more and more each day. Their legs are much more strong and stable and the cubs love to follow us around the car park and come to us when we call. Each day they have a play date with Uncle Pinny and spend hours playing and sleeping with each other. We even caught them huddled up sleeping together in their box having a nice snooze, which was so very cute seeing as Pinny loves to boss the other two around as he is bigger and has more teeth than them! Both Skyla and Coby have their teeth growing through and are drinking great and love their milk at every feed.
11 January: Both babies are looking excellent and so very cute. They are drinking 150mls per feed and have been treated for worms as well, so they are picking up quite a lot of weight. Coby now weighs 3.8kg and Skyla weighs 3.5kg. They are becoming more co-ordinated and are walking around and exploring the shop/restaurant area. The girl is much more vocal than the boy and loves attention!
4 January: Our two newest cubs are making excellent progress. They are now at the sanctuary area. The blue-eyed girl is a white lion, named Skyla and the boy is tawny in colour, and called Coby. The boy weighs 2,830kg and the girl weighs 2,710kg. They have eventually stopped fighting their bottles now when we try to feed them and are drinking very well. They are getting 100ml per feed and are having five feeds a day. They are very good babies but do like to use their little claws a lot so we are all very scratched. Both sleep a lot and get lots of compliments from all the tourists visiting in the busy school holidays on how cute they are.
1 January: A Happy New Year to everyone! Our wonderful news is that our two newest additions are healthy and gorgeous. They are up at the restaurant area now and have been named. The girl, a little white lion, is Skyla and the boy, a brown lion, is Coby. We’ve been so busy at the Park that we haven’t had time for weekly updates but we will post more news soon.
2010
24 December: We’re delighted to announce that the latest babies have been born, finally! The two were born to Thor and Savannah yesterday. And Janice is very happy as she says it looks like it’ll be a white Christmas at Seaview! See our first photo below.
