New DelhiA still from footage shared by the zoo. (HT)An Asiatic lioness at the Delhi National Zoological Park (NZP) gave birth to three cubs on Monday, bringing the total number of lions in the zoo to nine, according to zoo officials, who detailed that the cubs appeared to be healthy as they were being fed by the lioness and that none of them had been abandoned.The three births came a year after the lioness, Mahagauri, had given birth to five cubs, three of which had died.“The cubs were born to the breeding pair Mahagauri (female) and Maheshwar (male), whose pairing has once again been successful this year. On April 27, 2025, Maheshwar and Mahagauri produced two healthy cubs—a male named Kartik and a female named Karni—both of whom are growing well. The repeated breeding success of this pair is a significant achievement in the park’s conservation breeding programme for the endangered Asiatic lion,” said park director Sanjeet Kumar.The zoo director also stated that the cubs and their mother were currently staying in a maternity enclosure. “They are being provided with a calm and undisturbed environment essential for the early stages of development. The cubs remain under the constant care of their mother and are being closely monitored by the zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams through the CCTV surveillance system,” he said.In CCTV footage shared by the park, the cubs can be seen next to the mother. In the video, two of the cubs are feeding from the mother, while the third is asleep between her hind legs.Another zoo official said that the cubs cannot be put through a detailed health check-up nor can their sex be determined for around 20 days from the day of their birth, as their mother was keeping them close to her. The official said that Mahagauri was part of a group of animals brought to the NZP from Junagadh in Gujarat, as part of a transfer.“Currently, it is too early to determine what will happen with the cubs. However, cubs are exchanged with zoos across the country for three reasons: to reduce surplus, for conservation, and to change bloodlines so as to avoid inbreeding. Of the six lions currently in the Delhi zoo, one is over 14 years old and one has hind-limb paralysis. Both of them are unfit for breeding or display, leaving only Mahagauri, Maheshar, and their two children Kartik and Karni, besides the three cubs born on Monday,” said the official, requesting anonymity.