Triple treat of Taronga's lion cubs named

Taronga Western Plains Zoo's three new lion cubs have been named in homage to their African ancestors.

The triple treat of female cubs arrived at the zoo in Dubbo in central western NSW in April, the first litter since 2016.

Lion Supervisor Justine Powell says the four-month-old sisters have been named Amali (Hope), Imani (Faith) and Mara - after the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya that remains a stronghold for wild lion populations.

The public voted for the names from a list compiled by the lion keepers for the thriving cubs, each currently weighing in at a healthy 22 kilograms.

"Amali is very confident and shows a strong love for food," Ms Powell said in a statement on Thursday.

"Mara is audacious and has a playful behaviour of flicking her tail around like a helicopter.

"Imani is the quieter one who prefers to wait and see before making any decisions."

African lions are classified as vulnerable in the wild, with a decreasing population.

Over the past two decades populations have nearly halved as habitat is lost to agriculture and human settlement, making breeding programs more important than ever.