A Kent wildlife park is at the centre of a row with animal lovers following the death of one of its lion cubs.

Bosses from Port Lympne Reserve near Hythe revealed yesterday that the creature had "succumbed to the elements very quickly" after venturing outside the night before.

However, passionate nature lovers, who say they were watching a live feed from the park, have taken 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.

One wrote: "The cub that died last night was suffocated by five large lion bodies lying together to keep warm. It didn't wander anywhere.

"This poor little lion cub was also clearly unwell over the last three days - it was constantly panting, had trouble feeding and was listless.

"That cub would be alive if [Port Lympne had intervened].

"This is shocking negligence and these animals need to be removed from their care."

A statement released yesterday by the reserve said that the cub left its den during the night, unnoticed by its mother, Oudrika, and that "it later became clear that it had indeed passed away".

It added that Oudrika and her one remaining whelp have been taken to another shelter, "where she is protecting it".

The cub was born, along with two others, on January 13 at the animal park.

The litter was raised alongside its older siblings, who were born at the animal park two years ago.

But three days later, one of the young cubs died after being found unresponsive.

A social media user accused Port Lympne of issuing "a spurious statement" yesterday and called for a probe into the latest incident to be launched.

"It died in the early hours after being suffocated by five massive bodies jammed on top of each other due to cold in a small room. [The lions] devoured the baby at the end," they added.

"The three cubs have been in an unnatural, unsafe environment. They often were left to fend for themselves against the three sub-adults.

"These tiny babies have struggled to survive."

Port Lympne stuck by its original statement when it was contacted by KentOnline today, although later added that it would "welcome the opportunity" to review the footage, which it does not have, as the livestream is not saved.

A spokesman said: "To the best of our knowledge we believe that the cub wandered out and succumbed to the elements, we have no evidence to support other scenarios.

"We do not have the ability to watch back the live stream from Monday night into Tuesday morning, therefore we can only surmise that the cub had left the warmth of the pride.

"If any of our livestream viewers recorded the evening, as has been claimed, we would welcome the opportunity to review the footage.

"With regards to splitting the pride up, we always leave cubs in the protection of their parents unless they are rejected or the behaviour of the group becomes dangerous.

"The remaining cub is being closely watched by their mother Oudrika."

While the park has received a great deal of criticism, it has also been inundated with messages of support for the work it does and its dedicated staff.

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