African lioness kept as pet in Pakistan gives birth to 5 cubs

MULTAN, Pakistan – It’s a baby boom for the owner of a pet lioness in central Pakistan.

The African lioness named Queen has given birth to five healthy cubs. Lions normally have litters of two or three cubs.

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Owner Malik Fazal Abbas said he has had 4-year-old Queen since she was 2 months old. She mated with a male lion that Abbas also keeps at his home in the city of Multan.

Abbas, who is a cotton and mango grower, says he has a license from the Pakistani Wildlife Department to keep lions as pets.

There are other cases of wildlife kept as pets in Pakistan. The tiger is a symbol of the ruling party of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and some supporters keep tigers that they bring out during election campaigns.