Lion Cubs Meet the Public at Virginia Zoo

The four cubs shortly after they were born, in May. Photo courtesy Virginia Zoo.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo has given us plenty of baby animals to coo over this summer, but most of them remain at the Front Royal Conservation and Research Center, not on display to the public at the actual Zoo. So if you're jonesing for some cute and in need of a fix, you might consider a weekend road trip to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, where four lion cubs are making their debut today (and don't be confused by the Associated Press's story, which appears to have misidentified the cubs as tigers - they are in fact lions). The baby lions, three boys and one girl named Ajani, Razi, Dakari and Zarina, were born on May 2, and this will be the first weekend that the public will be able to see them in person. They're no clouded leopards, of course, but they'll do in a pinch.