13 June 2025
Being bitten, pounced on and stalked is all in a day’s work – when you are a dad to seven lion cubs.
Whipsnade Zoo’s male north African lion, Malik, is celebrating his first Father’s Day this year, after the three-year-old became a dad to seven rambunctious cubs.
Whilst lionesses do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to childcare, zookeepers at the conservation zoo have shared a selection of playful snaps that show Malik taking fatherhood in his stride.
The pictures show the cubs snuggling with dad, as well as clambering over him, playing with his whiskers, and stalking, pouncing on, and biting his tail.
Malik enjoying fatherhood
Each of Malik’s seven cubs are important additions to the conservation breeding programme for their vulnerable subspecies, the northern African lion.
Treat your father to a wild day out at Whipsnade Zoo, or for the ultimate last-minute gift, animal-loving dads can step into a zookeeper’s boots for the day with a Whipsnade Zoo animal experience — which can be purchased up to midnight the night before.
As part of the global conservation charity ZSL, every Whipsnade Zoo gift supports ZSL’s science and conservation work to protect and restore wildlife around the world.