June 10, 2010 | 11:59 am
Koyla, an Asian lion at the Planckendael Zoo in Mechelen, Belgium, gave birth to five cubs in April. That's big news for a critically endangered species, of which less than 300 are thought to remain in the wild.
The cubs haven't yet been named, but the zoo says it will give each of them a name beginning with the letter L. They're now eight weeks old.
Asian lions, which are also sometimes referred to as Asiatic lions or Persian lions, are the only lion subspecies that lives outside of the African continent. They once occupied a territory that extended from India to the Middle East, but now live only in a single wildlife preserve in India's Gir Forest. A few hundred more live in zoos around the world, including Planckendael, which participates in a conservation breeding program.
See more photos of the cubs after the jump!
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-- Lindsay Barnett
Photos: Eric Lalmand / European Pressphoto Agency
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Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2010/06/asiatic-lion-cubs.html
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