Photo by spiggycat

I don’t remember the part of The Lion King when Simba was kicked out of the house. But that seems to be what’s soon to happen to the National Zoo’s three year-and-a-half-old male lion cubs, who have started exhibiting some behavior that’s a little too, well, frisky for the family home.

“We do see them experimenting a lot with breeding-related behavior, and we have received some information based on a hormone study that they’re a part of that they have a pretty high level of testosterone that they’re producing already,” said Rebecca Stites, one of the lion’s keepers.

“At this point, we’re just following a natural process. We’re not worried that the males are going to successfully breed with the females at this point, but we’re eventually going to have to worry about them in-breeding,” she added.

Additionally, said Stites, it’s likely that the three males — who are pretty big already, between 216 and 272 pounds — may just be overstaying their welcome with at least one of the mother lions.

“We’re starting to see some behavior now from one of our adult lionesses, Shera. She’s the mother of the four older cubs, and she’s starting to show some aggression towards Naba’s two boys, and it’s probably her starting to demonstrate that she’s ready to see them move on,” said Stites.

There isn’t yet a set date on which they’ll be moved, but when they are, they will be kept within the National Zoo for the time being. They’ll also be able to hang out with their dad, Luke, who hasn’t shown any aggression towards the kids. Once the males hit their second birthdays, though, the lions will be made available to move to other institutions.

Their four female siblings will remain in the homes for a few more months.