A trio of rare Northern African lion cubs have been born at Whipsnade Zoo, marking a huge conservation success for the vulnerable sub-species.
Born to three-year-old lioness Winta, and three-year-old dad Malik, the litter of three arrived on 25 November 2024.
Footage captured by the conservation Zoo’s ‘cub cam’ CCTV shows attentive mum Winta being tender with her tiny newborns, carefully cleaning and nuzzling them. Keepers were happy to see the three cubs quickly get the hang of suckling, and the tiny trio have spent their first few weeks mostly eating and snoozing.
The three cubs are an important boost to the conservation breeding programme for Northern African lions, a subspecies that was only officially confirmed by scientific studies in 2017 which recognised that there are in fact two distinct subspecies of African lion, Northern and Southern, with Northern lions facing greater threats in the wild and therefore in most need of vital conservation attention.
The conservation breeding programme for Northern African lions is not only vital for creating an important insurance population of the threatened big cats in good zoos and protecting the lineage of this sub-species, but through meticulous and complex planning, the programme makes sure matches within the breeding population are genetically viable.
Sarah McGregor, team leader of predators at Whipsnade Zoo, said: “We’re delighted to share that we’ve had three incredibly important Northern African lion cubs born at Whipsnade Zoo.”
“It's been 17 years since we last had a breeding recommendation for African lion cubs at Whipsnade, so these three new additions really are something special for us. Their arrival is not only very exciting, but an especially important boost to the conservation breeding programme for these amazing big cats.”
Sadly, three quarters of African lion populations are declining in the wild, driven by large-scale habitat conversion for logging, livestock farming and housing, the loss of prey through unsustainable hunting, and human/wildlife conflict.
ZSL, the international conservation charity behind Whipsnade Zoo, works in the W-Arli-Pendjari conservation complex, spanning the borders of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin, which holds 90% of the lions remaining in West Africa, to support a wide number of species including lions through research, monitoring, and supporting national capacity for wildlife conservation.
Our vets and keepers have been remotely monitoring Winta and her litter to allow mum and her cubs to establish their important bond and let Winta settle into her new role as mum, but they've been delighted to see her take to motherhood so well.
“Winta is a wonderful and caring mum to her three cubs, and we've been able to observe some heartwarming moments already, from their first feed to their first wobbly steps.”
The three cubs are yet to be named, with keepers unable to confirm the cubs’ sexes until their first vet check and vaccinations, which will take place when they are around eight weeks old.
Sarah added: “Like lots of families around the UK at this time of year, the cold December weather means mum and cubs will be spending their time inside their cosy and warm house, but we can’t wait to introduce them to our visitors in the new year when they’re bigger and stronger.”