PREVIEW

Three Asiatic lion cubs have been pictured taking their first steps outside.

The 8-week-old cubs appeared tentative at first, looking to mum Arya for reassurance, but were soon spotted skipping around their Indian-inspired habitat, chasing each other and playing with mum's tail.

The cubs, born on 13 March 2024 at London Zoo, have so far spent their time cosied up in their special indoor cub dens with mum. The trio are yet to be sexed, and this will happen during their first health check later this month. From their first moments of nursing to their playful antics inside the den, every development has been closely monitored by zookeepers and captured on the zoo’s hidden “cubcam”.

The three cubs are an important addition to the conservation breeding programme, which safeguards a healthy population of the Critically Endangered species. Surviving only in the Gir Forest in Gujarat, India, the wild population is particularly vulnerable to disease or natural disasters. Recent population estimates suggest that only 600 to 700 individuals remain in the wild.