THE first lion cubs to be born in a Scottish zoo as part of a worldwide programme to help save Asiatic lions from extinction have died less than a month after their birth.
Staff at Edinburgh Zoo had hoped that the three rare cubs, which were born five weeks ago, would be the pride of the pride.
Their father, Royal, was introduced to Edinburgh Zoo two years ago in the hope he would mate with its resident lionesses -
sisters Gita and Kamlesh - and help save the endangered species.
But yesterday staff at the zoo said a "genetic problem" had led to the deaths of the cubs, which were born by Kamlesh as part of the breeding programme.
They admitted they did not know whether any other offspring born by the same breeding pair would be likely to suffer the same fate.
And they revealed tests are to be carried out on the cubs' parents to determine whether they will have to be removed from the breeding programme.
Seven-year-old Kamlesh gave birth to the three golden coloured cubs at the end of September.
Staff at the zoo had attempted to keep the birth of the unnamed lions under wraps, for fear that any extra attention the new mother may have received would cause her stress. Keepers had cordoned off a large area around the sprawling £300,000 purpose-built enclosure to ensure the new family received total privacy.
But two of the cubs died shortly after birth, while the third was found dead in the enclosure almost three weeks later.
Keepers initially feared that first-time mother Kamlesh may have neglected the infants or failed to bond with them. But vets at the zoo have just received the first batch of results from the postmortem of the young lions,
which show they died as a result of a genetic problem.
The vets say neither Kamlesh nor any of the zoo staff could have done anything to save the cubs' lives.
A spokesperson for the zoo said: "Edinburgh Zoo is very sad to announce the death of three lion cubs. Two of the cubs died soon after birth, and the third passed away two weeks ago.
"We are deeply disappointed the young did not survive, but as it was a genetic problem it was outwith our control.
"When the cubs were born we closed off the enclosure to give the new mother time to bond in peace with her young, a process which seemed to be going well.
"As in the wild, it can take years for inexperienced mothers to look after and raise their young successfully. But, sadly, all three cubs died."
She added: "All our staff are obviously very saddened by the cubs' deaths. The positive news is that we know our lions can breed. It may be that the genetic problem that caused the death of the cubs was a one-off event, and that future cubs may be free from any such problems.
"At this stage, it is too early to tell if our breeding programme is in jeopardy. But once Kamlesh has fully regained her strength, tests will be carried out on both her and Royal to determine whether either of them may have a problem that would affect future breeding.
"We will be keeping in contact with the body that runs the stud book for the conservation breeding programme."
The zoo had received its three Asiatic lions just two years ago as part of a European endangered species programme.
Fewer than 300 Asiatic lions are left in the wild - all concentrated in the same area, the Gir Forest in Gujarat, India - while only 200 live in captivity.
A zoo spokeswoman added: "The Asiatic lion has been declared the most endangered large cat species in the world. Despite strong conservation efforts, these lions still find themselves threatened by habitat loss and human encroachment."
The full article contains 674 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
