UPDATE MARCH 28:

Video released from the Associated Press shows African lioness Queen, and her five healthy cubs.

ORIGINAL MARCH 26:

It's a baby boom for the owner of a pet lioness in central Pakistan.

The African lioness named Queen has given birth to five healthy cubs. Lions normally have litters of two or three cubs.

Owner Malik Fazal Abbas said he has had 4-year-old Queen since she was 2 months old. She mated with a male lion that Abbas also keeps at his home in the city of Multan.

Abbas, who is a cotton and mango grower, says he has a license from the Pakistani Wildlife Department to keep lions as pets.

There are other cases of wildlife kept as pets in Pakistan. The tiger is a symbol of the ruling party of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and some supporters keep tigers that they bring out during election campaigns.

Photo: The Canadian Press - The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

African lioness named Rani, or Queen, sits with her newly born five cubs. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)