Thousands of people watched the moment a lioness gave birth to a litter of cubs at a Kent animal park.

In total, 22,000 people checked Port Lympne's live stream yesterday which showed Oudrika giving birth to three baby lions.

Watch the cubs first hours

It was the biggest audience the animal reserve has ever attracted on its 'Cub Cam', which shares footage from inside the lion's den.

The first cub arrived in the morning, and keepers were sure the labour was not over. And they were right, with two more cubs arriving in the afternoon.

The cubs could be seen being taken care of by Oudrika and their three older siblings, who were born in 2019.

Keepers say Oudrika and her babies are all doing well and their father, Adras, is also watching over the pride from a distance.

The sex of the babies is currently unknown, as the lioness is keeping a very close eye on her new arrivals.

Richard Barnes, animal manager, said: "After a tough 2020, the birth of lion cubs at Port Lympne is a wonderful start to 2021.

"The whole team here at Port Lympne have been glued to Cub Cam all day.

"When Oudrika’s first litter were born, visitors were keen to catch a glimpse of the cubs.

"Our latest arrivals are just as adorable, and we are sorry that - due to the nationwide lockdown - we cannot invite families to the reserve to see our new family of lions just yet.

"We look forward to being able to welcome visitors again as soon as it is appropriate to do so."

When Adras and Oudrika welcomed their first three cubs in May 2019 - named Kulinda, Khari and Binti - it was the first time that lions had been born at Port Lympne in over 10 years.

The animal park near Hythe is currently closed, as is its sister site Howletts, near Canterbury.

Big cat lovers who want to support the pride can send virtual care packages or adopt the Port Lympne lions via the reserve’s online shop.

Bosses at Port Lympne, run by the Aspinall Foundation, have also launched an urgent appeal to help it save three lions and a family of brown bears.

Two of the lions, Mojito and Timothy, were saved from Circus Wonderland where bosses at Port Lympne say they were deliberately underfed to keep them weak and small enough to use for photoshoots.

The third lion, Anthares, was confiscated from another circus where he was forced to perform and lived in a tiny and filthy trailer.

The three brown bears, Julio, Enciam and Neu, and their three young cubs are living at an adventure park in Andorra, which is soon closing its zoo.

But the charity fears it may be forced to abandon its plans to re-home the creatures if it fails to raise its £250,000 target.

To donate, visit here.

Read more: All the latest news from Hythe

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here