national zoo

To prevent a sink-or-swim situation, lion cubs have to go through the motions to test water prowess! Naturally, before the four babes at the National Zoo can live at the exhibit with mom later this year, they need to be able to navigate the moat that surrounds it since they still aren't making life jackets in lion sizes. Keepers were on hand to conduct the swim tests one at a time, but this lil one doesn't seem to be a fan of the water quite yet.

The big cats are not known to be expert swimmers and tend to stick to land in the wild, but I must say the cubs look rather adorable in their efforts. See more swim time shots below!

Congrats, Mama! Shera gave birth to four cubs on Aug. 31 at the National Zoo in DC, and you can watch them move — or, at press time, sleep — at your leisure!

The newly launched Lioncub Cam goes behind the scenes for a sneak peek at the babes not yet on exhibit to public visitors. The lil ones are still without names but, if this zoo's past tweeting habits are any indication, I'm sure we'll learn more about the lion babies sooner rather than later!

If you're as captivated as I was by my dog's daycare camera, refresh your memory on my tips to set one up in your home, too!

Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo

Laughter is contagious, and this orangutan is getting a kick out of something! As it turns out, she's part of the Think Tank exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Here Bonnie, Batang, and pals can play along with zoo visitors and not just pose for photo ops.
There's a button for the apes to spray human passersby with water to help beat the heat and a way to play tug-of-war as well. Are you ready to join in the fun?

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