A world's first – These lion cubs were born after their father had reversed vasectomy

New Delhi: A zoo in Chile presented two baby lion cubs to the public last week, born after a rare and a 'first-of-its-kind' medical procedure that involved a reversed vasectomy of their father.

The cubs, born three months ago, were conceived after their father 'Maucho' underwent the procedure, which vets at Buin Zoo in the suburbs of Santiago said took months of planning and a five-hour operation.

'This is the first successful reversal of a lion vasectomy reported in the world,' said Marcelo Marconi, a urology specialist who joined the zoo vet team to lead the procedure. 'It gives a way of preserving and maintaining a species in a zoo'

While the procedure is done on humans, it had never been carried out on lions.

The cubs’ parents – Masai and Maucho - were rescued from circuses.

Both the cubs are female and one of then is named Niara, while the other is yet to be named.

According to the zoo, the procedure could be copied by other places across the world that have lions in captivity.

(With Agency inputs)