Slideshow ( 3 images )

GAZA CITY (Reuters) - Four baby lion cubs died from the cold in a Gaza zoo after wind ripped protective plastic sheeting from their cage during a winter storm, the zoo’s owner said on Friday.

Two cubs were found dead on Thursday, just a day after they were born, said Fathy Joma. The two others were barely breathing and efforts to revive them with an electric heater failed.

The other animals in the private zoo in the southern Gaza Strip survived the storm, including the lioness, her mate and their three 14-month-old cubs, he said.