Adorable Lion Cubs Celebrate Early Halloween With Pumpkin Pouncing

Forget smashing pumpkins, lion cubs know it is way more fun to give the festive gourds a good pouncing. Watch as Sango and Sabi are having fun pouncing on a pumpkin!Show more

Halloween came a day early for Denver Zoo lion cubs Sango and Sabi. Namely, on October 30, 2013, the two cubs pounced on a pumpkin in the primary yard of the zoo's Predator Ridge exhibit.

The female cub becomes obsessed with the pumpkin. She is very playful, she spins it, bites it, sits on it, jumps at it and attacks it, while the crowd cheers! The male cub doesn't show so much interest in the pumpkin, he only smells it but he isn't impressed.

This was the first time many guests had seen Sango, a 1-year-old male who arrived from Lufkin, Texas' Ellen Trout Zoo in July 2013.

He spent the following few months behind the scenes clearing a mandatory quarantine period, growing accustom to his new surroundings and getting to know his new mate, Sabi.

Sabi gave guests an adorable show playing with the pumpkins at the Denver Zoo’s Predator Ridge. The pumpkin-pouncing was also a much-needed uplifting event, since the zoo had lost four lions to cancer this year.

Sabi and two of her brothers arrived at the Denver Zoo in November of last year as a gift from the royal family of Qatar. Zookeepers are hoping that she and Sango will mate and form a new pride.