Eleven lion cubs born in India

Boost for endangered species as four lionesses give birth to eleven cubs in Gir National Park

Three of the eleven newborn lion cubs

Four Asiatic lionesses have given birth to 11 cubs in Gir National Park in Gujarat state, India. Sandeep Kumar, the park's deputy conservator of forest, said three lionesses gave birth to three cubs each while the fourth one gave birth to two.

"It will take another 15 days for the cubs to open their eyes," he told the Press Trust of India.

"A lioness can feed only three to four cubs at a time. The fact that 4 lioness gave birth to 11 cubs illustrates that Asiatic lions are genetically strong and competent," he said.

Three of the eleven newborn lion cubs feeding 

Gir National Park is the last habitat of Asiatic Lions in Asia. Ten Asiatic lions died there in recent floods, prompting calls for some lions to be relocated to another forest reserve to ensure their survival.According to latest census report released in May, the number of Asiatic lions in the sanctuary and its surrounding areas had gone up to 523, an increase of 27 per cent since 2010.The lions are lions are targeted by poachers who then sell their body parts on the black market.