Three lion cubs for Dehiwela Zoo

Ridma Dissanayake

The National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala will import three lion cubs to add to the current lion exhibits at the zoo, officials said. The lion cubs will be brought to the zoo this month. Two female cubs are to be imported from Germany while a male cub will be imported from South Korea. They are around two-years-old.

The male lion cub is to arrive in Sri Lanka initially. It will arrive here on May 9. The officials said the lion cubs will be added to the display soon.

The Dehiwala National Zoo already has six lions but all are over 15 years and physically weak.

There are no lions in Sri Lanka although there is evidence of the existence of lions in the country thousands of years ago. The lion exhibit at the zoo comprises lions brought from other countries. The officials said that Sri Lanka had not imported lion cubs for two decades.