Lion cubs at N.C. Zoo!

What do you do when your mate is not interested in doing his job?  You introduce some competition, of course!  At the North Carolina Zoo, the male lion was not showing interest in his mate even when she solicited his attention.  SEZARC recommended that feces from an unfamiliar male lion should be placed around the enclosure, in plastic bottles with holes in it so that it could be smelled, to make the male perceive that he had some competition.  The olfactory cues from the other male could also stimulate the female to exhibit more regular ovarian activity.  Sure enough, breeding soon occurred and a litter of 4 cubs was just born to the lioness and her mate!