Gaziantep mayor visits saved lion cub, names him ‘Brave’

GAZİANTEP

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Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin has visited a lion cub that has been taken under protection after being found abandoned in a car on Aug. 23 in the Cizre district of the southeastern province of Şırnak, naming the lion “Cesur” (Brave). 

Şahin visited the lion cub at the Gaziantep Zoo and fed him with milk through a syringe.

She said they had introduced quadruplet lion cubs born in the zoo to the media in previous years.

“Today we have a gift from our minister [Forestry and Water Affairs Minister Veysel Eroğlu]. It was found when security teams were conducting searches inside a car at a road checkpoint in Cizre. After speaking to press members, we decided to name him Cesur, which suits our male lion very well. I hope we will follow him growing up,” said the mayor.

The Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality head of the Wildlife Protection Department Celal Özsöyler said the lion was about one month old. He said they feed him with a special blended lactose-free milk.

“We add quail eggs and baby formula to the milk. We feed the baby eight times a day. When he first came here, he was in bad condition; he had been newly separated from his mother. We have strengthened him with vitamins that built up his body’s resistance.”