Staff at the zoo were heartbroken when Kaya died in March, aged 17. She was born there in 2009.

Partridge said the new lions would bring a happy adjustment after “life without lions”.

“It’s been a little bit nerve-wracking, but we’re happy they’re here and we can’t wait to go forward and see what they like to play with,” she said.

The new arrivals are northern lions – different to the southern lions they had at the park before – and are part of a north African lion breeding programme.

Snipp said they had brought the lions to Suffolk because they were part of the zoo’s long heritage.

“We’ve kept lions throughout most of our history,” he said.

However, he added that conservation was also important.

“Sadly, lions are vulnerable in the wild and like all modern zoos we want to contribute to their breeding programmes,” he added.