The Pittsburgh Zoo’s newest lion cub may be small, but she already has a huge personality.
First-time lion parents Hondo and Scarlett welcomed their baby girl on April 5, and zookeepers say the energetic cub has been keeping everyone busy ever since.
Karen Vacco, the zoo’s curator of mammals, described the little lion as extremely active and more than a little “sassy.”
In a video shared by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the cub can be seen bouncing around her enclosure and giving both of her parents plenty to deal with.
Vacco joked that the youngster is constantly on the move and “drives her mom crazy.”
Dad apparently is not getting much of a break either.
The zoo has affectionately called the cub a “spicy firecracker,” saying she has a habit of biting her mother’s tail and climbing all over her father’s thick mane.
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The four-month-old cub recently began spending short periods outside as she prepared for her official public debut.
Her birth is also important for conservation efforts.
Zoo officials said the cub helps increase the genetic diversity of African lions, whose populations have been declining in the wild.
The zoo also recently revealed the cub’s official name.
After asking the public for naming suggestions and raising $5,705 to support the care of the lions and other zoo animals, officials announced her name on World Lion Day.
She is now called Kiazi, the Swahili word for “potato.”
The unusual name is actually a sweet tribute to her father.
Hondo originally came to Pittsburgh from the Idaho Falls Zoo, and Kiazi is his first cub.
“Since she is Hondo’s first offspring and he is from Idaho, keepers loved the name,” Vacco explained. “Hondo’s little Idaho potato!”
With a name that cute and a personality that bold, Kiazi seems destined to remain one of the Pittsburgh Zoo’s most entertaining new residents.