At birth, a lion cub is:

Weak and dependent on its mother

Strong enough to live on its own

Able to get it's own food

An exact copy of its mother

Weak and dependent on its mother

this is natural for all animals even humans

The lion cub is dependent on its mother until they are old enough to walk so they don't need to be left at the den laying there they start walking 10-15 days after birth then they are dependent on their mother for food and protection