Fota Wildlife announce names of four endangered Asian lion cubs

Look at the little faces.

Earlier this year, four little lion cubs were born in Fota Wildlife Park. They were small, they were cute, but most importantly of all, they were endangered. Since then, the park has tasked the public with naming the cubs, a feat that finally came to an end today when it was announced that the lions are now called Ri, Riann, Rani and Ravi. Adorable. The lion cubs, now four months old, will now be joining their parents Gira and Shanto in the park's lion habitat in the Asian Sanctuary. Their older brother Loki and aunt Gita will also be there. "The pride is doing great, the cubs are growing and gaining strength daily and Loki is proving to be a fantastic big brother as he is great with the cubs," said Kelly Lambe, lead ranger. "All the adults are getting along really well together and each one interacts with the cubs positively, you see them learning to hunt by playing with the others. "They are still having the odd suckle from Mum Gira, but they are also eating meat with gusto." Asian lions are classified as an endangered species by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which means that zoos and wildlife parks play a crucial role in ensuring that they do not became extinct. The only place that the Asian lion currently resides in the wild is the Gir Forest in India. There are estimated to be approximately 500 of the lions living there. The cub naming competition was won by Ian Twohig and Emma McCarthy from Cork, Helen Cronin from Macroom, and Pamela Kent-Ryan from Mitchelstown, Co Cork. Each received a Conservation Annual Pass to Fota Wildlife Park.