A lion cub born at a Kent wildlife park is now being cared for by a specialist team after being abandoned by its mother.

The male cub, who has been named Azi, was one of three born in January at Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve, near Hythe, to lioness Oudrika.

Sadly, its two siblings have since passed away; one just days after it was born and one in February.

Now, it has been revealed that Azi was removed from the rest of the pride and has been hand reared for the last few weeks.

He has also been receiving a specialist diet and treatment from a vet for a kidney defect and to help support his development.

It comes as a picture of him has also been released by staff.

A spokeswoman for Port Lympne said: "Sadly, Oudrika abandoned her remaining cub on the coldest night of the year.

"Our team were closely monitoring the situation and made the decision to remove the cub for hand rearing, which is always the last resort.

"The cub is male and has been named Azi.

"For the past few weeks he has been receiving specialist supplements to support his development, which are working well and he is growing stronger every day under the care of our experienced team.

"Azi is currently weaning himself off milk and onto meat; minced turkey is his favourite at the moment.

"At 10.5kg, he is a substantial little fellow and is very playful when he feels comfortable in his surroundings."

'He is a substantial little fellow and is very playful when he feels comfortable in his surroundings...'

Thousands of people watched live as Oudrika gave birth to the three cubs in January, on Port Lympne's 'Cub Cam'.

Three days later, it was announced that one of the babies had died.

Then in February, Port Lympne said the second cub had ventured outside during the night and 'succumbed to the elements very quickly'.

However, some animal lovers, who say they were watching the live feed, took to social media to dispute the circumstances surrounding the lion's death.

They instead claim that the cub was suffocated as five other lions huddled together to stay warm, before being eaten by the pride.

Port Lympne stood by its original statement when asked about the claims and said it would review any footage.

The litter in January was the second to be born to Oudrika.

She also gave birth to three cubs in 2019 - the first lions to be born at the animal park in 10 years.

Read more: All the latest news from Hythe

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