African Lion cubs have been born at Blackpool Zoo for the first time in a decade.
The three cubs were fathered by Khari, who was the last lion to be born at the zoo in 2015.
Pictures shared by the zoo show the mother, Hira, carrying one of the cubs in her mouth and licking her offspring clean.
Hira, an “inexperienced mother”, gave birth outside during the daytime in what rangers deemed an “unusual” decision.
It has meant a section of the outdoor area has been cordoned off from the public to give the mother and the new cubs privacy.
Adam Kenyon, the zoo’s section manager, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome our first lion cubs in more than a decade.
“Since the day their dad, Khari, was born, he has been a firm favourite with both our team and our visitors, so his journey to fatherhood makes this moment even more special.
“It is still very early days for Hira and her cubs, and the youngsters remain vulnerable at this stage, so our priority is giving them the time and space they need to settle in and bond as a family.
“Unusually, Hira chose to give birth outside during the daytime, which is why some areas of the big cat habitat has limited visitor access at present as she adjusts to motherhood.”
Blackpool Zoo’s £1.5m big cat habitat opened in 2023 to create more indoor space for the animals.
King of the beasts
The new facility housed Khari as well as three lionesses, including Hira, who had been carefully selected to form a pride.
The African Lion species, nicknamed the “king of beasts”, are native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The species has been officially classed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with its population declining significantly in recent decades. Only around 23,000 African lions remain in the wild.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, this decline is because of habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade and human-wildlife conflict.
In the wild, the big cats typically live between 10 and 14 years, and are commonly found in semi-arid desert areas, preying on animals such as buffalo, antelopes, giraffes and zebras.
The zoo has announced plans to share more updates, including the cubs’ names and genders, in due course.
African lions live in a number of major wildlife parks including Whipsnade Zoo and Longleat safari park.
There have been a number of other rare animal births at UK wildlife parks and zoos recently, including the birth of twin Amur tiger cubs in July at Longleat in Wiltshire.
The species is one of the most endangered in the world, with only approximately 450 Amur tigers remaining in the wild, according to the IUCN.
Elsewhere, three Scottish wildcat kittens were born in May at the Battersea Park Children’s Zoo in London as part of the Saving Wildcats conservation project.
The species is critically endangered and is the last remaining wild member of the cat family in Britain, with fewer than 90 in human care.