Trio of rare Northern African lion cubs born at Whipsnade Zoo

By: Nii Ammui Fio | 2 mins read

Whipsnade Zoo is celebrating a major success in wildlife conservation with the birth of three rare Northern African lion cubs.

The trio, born on November 25, 2024, to three-year-old lioness Winta and her mate Malik, mark an exciting and important milestone for the vulnerable subspecies.

Captured on the zoo’s ‘cub cam,’ footage shows Winta tenderly caring for her newborns, cleaning and nuzzling them while ensuring they quickly learned to suckle. For their first few weeks, the tiny cubs have spent most of their time feeding and snoozing under their mother’s watchful care.

Conservation Significance

The birth of these cubs is a critical boost for the conservation breeding program dedicated to Northern African lions, a subspecies identified in 1758 but only officially confirmed as distinct in 2017. Scientific research has since established two African lion subspecies: Northern and Southern. Northern African lions face greater threats in the wild and are in urgent need of conservation efforts.

The breeding program not only helps create a vital insurance population of these majestic cats in accredited zoos but also ensures genetic diversity through carefully planned pairings.

“It’s been 17 years since African lion cubs were last born at Whipsnade, so these three are incredibly special to us,” said Sarah McGregor, Team Leader of Predators at Whipsnade Zoo. “Their arrival is not just exciting but also a significant step forward for the conservation of Northern African lions.”

Challenges in the Wild

The wild populations of African lions are under severe pressure, with three-quarters of their populations in decline. Habitat loss from logging, farming, and human settlement, combined with prey depletion from unsustainable hunting and human-wildlife conflict, have drastically reduced their numbers.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the conservation charity behind Whipsnade Zoo, is actively working to protect lions in the W-Arli-Pendjari conservation complex across Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin. This region holds 90% of the remaining lions in West Africa. ZSL supports conservation through research, monitoring, and capacity-building initiatives.

Monitoring and Next Steps

Zoo staff have been remotely observing Winta and her cubs, allowing them to bond and settle in undisturbed. Winta has proven to be a nurturing mother, with keepers witnessing heartwarming moments like the cubs’ first feed and their initial wobbly steps.

“The cold December weather means mum and cubs are staying cozy indoors,” Sarah added. “We’ll continue to monitor them closely and can’t wait to introduce them to visitors in the new year when they’re bigger and stronger.”

The cubs’ sexes and names will be confirmed after their first veterinary check and vaccinations, scheduled for when they are around eight weeks old.