LION. KING. How a 19 year old lion fathered 35 cubs… in a year and a half. This is the wild story of a lion named Frasier—Frasier the Sensuous Lion—who became a science wonder the world over in 1972. After all, how many lions have movies and songs made about them because of never before seen animal behavior? You see, Frasier defied what was previously known about lion breeding habits—any animal’s really. Did you say 35 cubs? In just 18 months? And, wait, how old? Also, in this video: learn a math equation about how just one lion can take over Los Angeles and find out how zoos manage breeding programs today with their menagerie of creatures great and small. * * * ABOUT WILD LIVES Popular Science’s WILD LIVES is a monthly series that dives like an Emperor penguin into some of the wildest stories and weirdest facts about, of course, wild animals (sometimes botanical wonders, too!). In their own words. Well, approximately their own words—they are wild animals after all. CREDITS Video by: Tom McNamara Animation: Beth Wexler Narrator: Dave Pettitt Media 8mm home video of Lion Country Safari (Scott Stodard), “Frasier the Lovable Lion” (Frasier Productions, Inc., Sandler Films, Inc., Four Star International, Inc.), “Frasier (The Sensuous Lion)” (Sarah Vaughn and The Jimmy Rowles Quintet; 1974 Mainstream Records), Getty, “Here Comes the Circus” (1942), “I Love A Parade” (Looney Tunes, 1932), LIFE Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Orange County Archives, Prelinger Archive, Pixabay, “Who’s Who In The Zoo” (Federal Writers Project, 1937) Music APM, Vik Sharma Thank You Mary Ellen Amodeo, AZA Reproductive Management Center, Katie Belloff, Jess Boddy, Erin Chapman, Digitize NY, Sonia Epstein, Meg Lampert, Jason Lederman, Lion Center at the University of Minnesota, Lion Country Safari (Palm Beach County, Florida), Steve Oftelie, Dr. Craig Packer, Dr. David Powell, Pat, Donna and Todd Quinn, Saint Louis Zoo, Russ Smith, Scott Stodard, Species360, Zoological Association Of America