It was early on 14 March, that Di crawled into Qailee’s den to place the single cub in with her new siblings.
“We didn’t want that cub smelling like us, so we rubbed some of the straw that was in the den on the singleton cub and we toileted the others and put some of their urine on the foster cub,” she said
“Then we left… and we waited. Within 24 hours, Qailee was feeding all three cubs and it was amazing.
“It was a huge moment for us as an organisation, as it will inform the way we will breed going forward; such as breeding in pairs or multiples to ensure there is options for cross-fostering or forming a coalition between males.
“You do get attached to the little ones when you are hand raising, but the sweetness of seeing the week pan out after we had done that was just worth every single moment.”
Qailee and her three cubs are now happily snuggling, feeding and spending time bonding as a family.