Darling Downs Zoo introduces 10-week-old lion cub Caesar after mother’s surprise pregnancy

A Queensland zoo has welcomed a new cub into its pride — and he’s making quite the stir.

Caesar the African lion cub was born at the Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton, west of Brisbane, 10 weeks ago, and is already working on his roar.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: New lion welcomed to Queensland zoo.

“He does love to talk!” handler Stephanie Robinson told 7NEWS.

“Lions are very vocal, even his parents, they do tend to talk quite a lot — not just the roar everyone is familiar with.”

His 13-year-old mother Sassy’s pregnancy came as a “surprise” to her handlers, and his entrance into the world proved even more dramatic for the staff looking after the big cats.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” Robinson said.

“We thought his mum was way past breeding, she’s never bred before.”

Robinson joked that they had thought the male lions were “duds”.

“Looks like they’re not!”

Most lionesses will give birth to two to four cubs in a litter, however Caesar was an only cub and was brought into the world via a Caesarion section — where he earned his name.

After the procedure, his mother was unable to produce milk and the hard decision to hand raise the cub was made.

“We really like it when the mums do it themselves,” Robinson said. “But he’s growing very quickly, he started off life at 1.5kg, and now he’s closer to 8kg — so it’s a very rapid growth!”

The fast-growing future king of the zoo jungle is hand fed five bottles of milk a day and needs lots of stimulation and attention, according to his foster mum.

“Like any small cat or dog, you’ve got to stimulate them, so it’s hard work — but he’s a bundle of joy just the same,” Robinson said.

“Anyone who has hand raised a baby, you know you have the beautiful highs and the fun, but you also have the stress and the worries, if they get sick or something’s wrong — it’s always a double-edged sword.

“His personality is loving and affectionate, he doesn’t sleep, just wants to play and jump on you. He does have a little bit of a temper, his daddy has a temper, and he seems to have adopted that as well.”

Caesar joins a long lineage for the zoo, and marked the 15th generation of lions born in Australia.

Robinson says they hope he will be able to stay at the Darling Downs Zoo — however, their main focus at the moment is about helping him grow and assimilate, as well as teaching him that he is a lion.

“The plan when he is older is to incorporate him with his family,” she said. “It does take time.”

For now, Caesar will slowly but surely be getting familiarised with people and the zoo, before he can be seen by members of the public — and show off his roar.