Kiki and her mate, 9-year-old Kamau, have produced one previous litter. Born in 2008, males Christos, Mikalos and Athanaisi now reside at Africam Safari in Puebla, Mexico.
Lion gestation averages three to four months, and litter size is usually one to five cubs. The cubs, which are born blind and entirely dependent on their mothers for care and protection, usually stay with their mothers for around 18 months.
Kiki’s cubs will join a bumper crop of 2013 babies, including the first rhino calf ever born in the Zoo’s 124-year history; two infant gorillas; two infant orangutans; and Mei Lun and Mei Huan, the twin giant pandas born to Lun Lun in July 2013. All but the panda cubs, expected to make their debut later this fall, are on exhibit now with their mothers.