Following a 115-day pregnancy, African lion Araali gave birth to four feisty cubs on Wednesday, August 13, after laboring for nearly 18 hours. The newborns' father, Usiko, joined the Denver Zoo in 2016 after being transferred from the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kansas, the zoo said. Due to Usiko and Araali's compatible genetics, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' African Lion Species Survival Plan recommended they breed last year. The zoo said its growing lion coalition represents its continuing conservation efforts, which extend beyond lions in human care. The institution is also helping wild lions through joining efforts like the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Project, a partnership the zoo announced earlier this year, which includes helping protect the declining lion population in Uganda.