METROPOLIS
Cubs and Calf
Fort Worth Zoo celebrates three more young’uns, two African lions and one Asian elephant.
BY TERI WEBSTER
Shortly after the sun rises and well before the crowds arrive, some of the most important work at the Fort Worth Zoo is already underway. Behind the scenes of the animals’ sprawling habitats, new lives are stirring.
As fall begins, a fresh season is beginning for a pair of African lion cubs and a female Asian elephant calf. The three babies are growing, learning, and becoming tangible connections to the future of two species.
In late June, the lion cubs’ story began away from public view, in a sheltered den where veteran mom Saba gave birth to a male and female on June 29, 2025.
Behind the scenes, keepers watched closely.
“Initially, the first thing you look for is, ‘Are they nursing?’ and ‘For how long?’ ” said Zach Butler, a keeper for the Predators of Asia & Africa exhibit. “The easiest way for us to monitor that is just weighing them every day to make sure they’re consistently growing.”
In the early days of their development, the cubs wrestled, tumbling over each other in a clumsy imitation of predator and prey. Their instincts quickly bloomed into distinct personalities.
The female cub, Imara (Swahili for “strength”), emerged as the bolder of the two as they played games like swatting at Saba’s tail, typical cub behavior. The male cub’s name is Tamu (“sweet”), a reflection of his gentler nature.
“He’s kind of a mama’s boy,” Butler said of Tamu, who rarely leaves his mother’s side.
Saba cares for them as an “ideal” lioness mom, patiently nursing and bathing them. The habitat was also “baby-proofed” with extra logs and lowered water levels for safety around the pools and waterfalls.
Beyond the habitat, the cubs have found an unexpected guardian in the pride’s stately male lion, Jabulani. The father is doing his part to provide a welcoming and smooth transition.
“He mostly just does his thing and sits around looking pretty,” Butler said. “He doesn’t
really interact with them unless they interact with him first.”
When he does, Jabulani provides gentle, playful care.
“A good sign the dad is OK with his cubs is rolling over with them,” Butler said. “He’s showing sensitive parts like his stomach, like he’s willing to be vulnerable.”
A Genetic Legacy
The cubs are part of an overarching goal to diversify lion genetics in the United States. In the wild, lions have a “vulnerable” conservation status, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Fort Worth Zoo belongs to a cooperative breeding program among North American zoos which is designed to establish a genetically diverse population of African lions. Adult lions Jabulani, Saba, and Abagabae were born at a South African wildlife facility and came to the Fort Worth Zoo in 2012. Their arrival
introduced new bloodlines of lions into North America and varied the gene pool, the zoo said.
“When [the lions] got here, their genetic representation in the U.S. population was basically zero,” Butler said. “There were no lions related to them, which makes them extremely important.”
The new cubs are playing another important role, as well: keeping the pride active. Lions can sleep 16 to 20 hours a day, Butler noted. While the cubs are running around, they also get the adult lions up and moving.
For now, an older sibling, Moja, stays in a private habitat to avoid any roughhousing. Born Oct. 20, 2023, Moja is still a bit of a “big baby” who likes to play and can be very rambunctious, Butler said.
A Spunky Matriarch in the Making
The biggest baby of all, though, is making her own impression at the nearby Elephant Springs
habitat. On Aug. 18, 2025, a 250-pound female calf was born to Bluebonnet, the first elephant calf ever born at the Fort Worth Zoo, in 1998. The new calf makes the herd’s matriarch, Rasha, a great-grandmother — a rare title for an Asian elephant in North America.
Signs of a healthy calf were immediate: The zoo said she was standing within six minutes and nursing within two hours. After an 11-day naming contest with around 18,000 votes, the calf has been named Lady Bird, after former First Lady and Texas native Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson, who loved nature and wildflowers and advocated for native plants and ecosystems. For weeks, mother and daughter bonded quietly behind the scenes, a crucial period for the calf’s development.
Lady Bird is proving to be active and intelligent.
In the wild, elephants live in matriarchal herds, a dynamic the zoo replicates. The new continued on page 6
The cubs are part of an overarching goal to diversify lion genetics in the United States.
Courtesy Fort Worth Zoo
calf has met all the females and has even reached out with her trunk to touch the male elephants as they walk by in a separate habitat.
“In the wild, the ladies all live together,” Gabby McGee said. “Adult males are pretty solitary and don’t have any part of child rearing.”
Often, a calf’s traits are shaped by whichever elephant it’s around the most.
“They can in fact pick up different personality traits,” McGee said. “Whoever they spend a lot of time with, they will emulate that elephant.”
While people often project human emotions onto animals, the keepers strive to understand them on their own terms.
“They don’t think like a human. They think like an elephant,” McGee said. “We love elephants just as they are.”
The calf’s birth is a reminder of the IUCN’s endangered status of Asian elephants, with as few as 40,000 remaining in the wild. For her keepers, the calf is a living link to a species many may never see in its natural habitat.
“I’ve never been to Asia,” McGee said. “I’ve never been to Africa, but I love elephants. It’s their intelligence and the personal relationships we build with them.” l
Latest Baby Animals Born at Fort Worth Zoo
Below is a listing of some of the baby animals born in recent years at Fort Worth Zoo. Up-to-date information on all the animals and their viewing times is available at FortWorthZoo.org.
African lion Imara and Tamu — born Jun. 29, 2025
Moja — born Oct. 20, 2023
Asian elephant Lady Bird — born Aug. 18, 2025
Travis — born Feb. 23, 2023
Brazos — born Oct. 21, 2021
Mandrill Jasper — born Sep. 13, 2024
Ruby — born Jan. 11, 2024
Reticulated Giraffe Finnigan — born
Aug. 18, 2024
Delilah — born Jul.
2, 2024
Ace — born Apr. 1, 2024
Korbel — born Jan. 1, 2024
Colobus Monkey
Baloo — born Jan. 24, 2024
Corey — born Oct. 29, 2023
Gharial
Hatchlings were born on Jun. 5 and on Jun. 11, 2025. Hatchlings were also born in 2023 and 2024.
Western Lowland Gorilla Bruno — born Nov. 6, 2022
Bird is proving to be active and intelligent.
Fed Intervention?
Fort Worth suffered four separate homicides last weekend — time for the White House to send in the National Guard
The president has sent federal troops into other cities for much less. It started in the summer, when he called in soldiers to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Both Democraticleaning metropolises were (and still are) experiencing major drops in violent crime. Los Angeles shows a 17% decrease in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period the year before and is on track for a 60-year low in homicides, according to a report by Major Cities Chiefs and local news organizations.
In Washington, crime has been dropping since a peak in 2023, with numbers going down long before the federal takeover in August. In 2024, homicides had dropped by 31% compared to the year before, and overall violent crime fell by about 35%, according to police data, with violent crime decreasing throughout the first half of the year.
The National Guard is now harassing law-abiding Americans and probably sleeping on (and sweeping) floors in Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Both Democrat-leaning cities are also experiencing big drops in violent crime. In the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, violent crime in Portland, local police say, is down “significantly,” with homicides dropping by 51%, the largest decrease of its kind in any major city.
There also have been historic drops in volent crime in Chicago. Homicides are down by 32.3% and overall violent crime by 21.6% compared to the previous years. If you’re looking for lawless cities, the ones the president is attacking aren’t them
The courts have pushed back on his incursions, calling his tactics unlawful and unconstitutional. In states with Republican governors, the situation is a little different. They’re asking for the president to go after their blue cities (only), which means there’s less legal recourse because the governors requested the assistance.
Anyone with a brain knows it’s all nonsense, just an effort by a low-polling autocrat in the making to create enough turmoil to cancel the midterms (that his side will most assuredly lose) and to keep the world from talking about his name appearing in the files of one of his best friends, a “terrific guy,” and history’s most notorious pedophile. (If “Donald Trump” or some version thereof is not in the Epstein files, they would have appeared on your iPhone U2style on Day 1. The entire reason Republican legislators just shut down the government is to avoid a vote to release all those sordid names.)
After the attacks in Fort Worth, Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia held a press conference in which he asserted that the city is still “a very safe city.”
He continued, “What often gets forgotten is the overall crime stats of the city that our violent crime continues to go down.”
Overall crime — violent crime — is down in all the cities to which the president has sent federal troops (who most certainly would rather be at home with their feet up). If this level of governmental intimidation and intrusion does not concern you, then I’m afraid you belong to a cult and the Founding Fathers are shaking their heads in shame at you. — Anthony Mariani
Correction
In our annual Best Of issue, a critic incorrectly identified Cancun Mexican Restaurant as a new establishment when it’s actually 25 years old. We regret the error. — A.M.
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
Despite four separate homicides last weekend, Police Chief Eddie Garcia says Fort Worth is “a very safe city” — as safe as any of the cities to which the president has sent federal troops. There’s a good, openly political reason we’ll be spared.
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:
Molson Coors Usa LLC, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for renewal of Air Quality Permit No. 3114, which would authorize continued operation of a Malt Beverage Production Facility located at 7001 South Freeway, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas 76134. Additional information concerning this application is contained in the public notice section of this newspaper.
CLASSIFIEDS
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND INTENT TO OBTAIN AIR PERMIT (NORI) RENEWAL
PERMIT NUMBER 3114
APPLICATION. Molson Coors Usa LLC, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for renewal of Air Quality Permit Number 3114, which would authorize continued operation of a Malt Beverage Production Facility located at 7001 South Freeway, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas 76134. AVISO DE IDIOMA ALTERNATIVO. El aviso de idioma alternativo en espanol está disponible en https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/newsourcereview/airpermits-pendingpermitapps. This link to an electronic map of the site or facility’s general location is provided as a public courtesy and not part of the application or notice. For exact location, refer to application. https://gisweb.tceq.texas.gov/LocationMapper/?marker=97.32,32.644444&level=13. The existing facility and/or related facilities are authorized to emit the following air contaminants: particulate matter including particulate matter with diameters of 10 microns or less and 2.5 microns or less.
This application was submitted to the TCEQ on September 4, 2025. The application will be available for viewing and copying at the TCEQ central office, TCEQ Dallas/Fort Worth regional office, and the Fort Worth Public Library Wedgewood Branch, 3816 Kimberly Lane, Forth Worth, Tarrant County, Texas beginning the first day of publication of this notice. The facility’s compliance file, if any exists, is available for public review in the Dallas/Fort Worth regional office of the TCEQ. The application, including any updates, is available electronically at the following webpage: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/airpermit-applications-notices
The executive director has determined the application is administratively complete and will conduct a technical review of the application. In addition to the renewal, this permitting action includes the incorporation of permits by rule related to this permit. The reasons for any changes or incorporations, to the extent they are included in the renewed permit, may include the enhancement of operational control at the plant or enforceability of the permit. The TCEQ may act on this application without seeking further public comment or providing an opportunity for a contested case hearing if certain criteria are met.
PUBLIC COMMENT. You may submit public comments to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. The TCEQ will consider all public comments in developing a final decision on the application and the executive director will prepare a response to those comments. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the TCEQ’s jurisdiction to address in the permit process.
OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONTESTED CASE HEARING. You may request a contested case hearing if you are a person who may be affected by emissions of air contaminants from the facility. If requesting a contested case hearing, you must submit the following: (1) your name (or for a group or association, an official representative), mailing address, daytime phone number; (2) applicant’s name and permit number; (3) the statement “[I/we] request a contested case hearing;” (4) a specific description of how you would be adversely affected by the application and air emissions from the facility in a way not common to the general public; (5) the location and distance of your property relative to the facility; (6) a description of how you use the property which may be impacted by the facility; and (7) a list of all disputed issues of fact that you submit during the comment period. If the request is made by a group or association, one or more members who have standing to request a hearing must be identified by name and physical address. The interests the group or association seeks to protect must also be identified. You may also submit your proposed adjustments to the application/permit which would satisfy your concerns.
The deadline to submit a request for a contested case hearing is 15 days after newspaper notice is published. If a request is timely filed, the deadline for requesting a contested case hearing will be extended to 30 days after mailing of the response to comments.
If any requests for a contested case hearing are timely filed, the Executive Director will forward the application and any requests for a contested case hearing to the Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting. Unless the application is directly referred to a contested case hearing, the executive director will mail the response to comments along with notification of Commission meeting to everyone who submitted comments or is on the mailing list for this application. The Commission may only grant a request for a contested case hearing on issues the requestor submitted in their timely comments that were not subsequently withdrawn. If a hearing is granted, the subject of a hearing will be limited to disputed issues of fact or mixed questions of fact and law relating to relevant and material air quality concerns submitted during the comment period. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the Commission’s jurisdiction to address in this proceeding.
MAILING LIST. In addition to submitting public comments, you may ask to be placed on a mailing list for this application by sending a request to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. Those on the mailing list will receive copies of future public notices (if any) mailed by the Office of the Chief Clerk for this application.
AGENCY CONTACTS AND INFORMATION. All public comments and requests must be submitted either electronically at www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/, or in writing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Please be aware that any contact information you provide, including your name, phone number, email address and physical address will become part of the agency’s public record. For more information about the permitting process, please call the TCEQ Public Education Program, Toll Free, at 1-800-687-4040 or visit their website at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/pep. Si desea información en Español, puede llamar al 1-800-687-4040. You can also view our website for public participation opportunities at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/participation.
Further information may also be obtained from Molson Coors Usa LLC, 7001 South Freeway, Fort Worth, Texas 76134-4001 or by calling Ms. Janeth Rodriguez, Environmental and Sustainability Engineer at (817) 615-5505.
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