New Delhi, 27 April

Lioness Mahagauri gave birth to four cubs on Sunday, making it the first successful breeding of Asiatic lions at Delhi’s National Zoological Park since 2009.

"The mother is looking after the cubs well so far," said zoo director Sanjeet Kumar, adding that they are being closely monitored as the “next 24 hours are crucial because it was Mahagauri's first delivery”.

The five-year-old Asiatic lioness gave birth to the cubs this morning.

The species is marked as ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The famous Delhi zoo last saw the birth of lion cubs in May 2009, when two cubs were delivered.

For now, the newborn cubs will stay with their mother. They will only be shifted for medical checks depending on how Mahagauri reacts, Kumar said.

Mahagauri along with the cubs’ father Maheshwar, a five-year-old Asiatic lion, was brought to the Delhi zoo from Gujarat’s Junagadh in 2021.

In recent years, Delhi Zoo has witnessed other big cat births too.

Two Royal Bengal Tiger cubs were born in May 2023, although three from the same litter were stillborn. In August 2022, three White Tiger cubs were born, but one died after four months.

The birth of the lion cubs comes as good news for the zoo, which has been facing criticism over a series of animal deaths. This month alone, a Thamin deer, a Gaur calf, and an Albino Blackbuck died.

In March, a female Dhole passed away and in February, the zoo lost a 15-year-old leopard, a 22-year-old jaguar, and a 15-year-old nilgai.

The zoo also made headlines recently after a leopard mauled a zookeeper during a transfer operation. Reports said the staff member involved had experience only with herbivores and not carnivores.

Opened in November 1959, the  National Zoological Park currently houses 95 species of animals and birds. It received its first lion pair in 1969.

Gujarat is the world's last abode of Asiatic lions. As per the last census conducted in June 2020, the state is home to 674 Asiatic lions, mainly the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary.

Population estimation of Asiatic lions is carried out once every five years and the last such exercise was conducted in 2020.

In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the initiation of the 16th cycle of lion estimation exercise in May this year.