They're cute, they're cuddly and their roar doesn't have any teeth behind it.

At least for now.

Zoo Atlanta

This is the first time that the zoo has had lion clubs since 1997.

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Zoo Atlanta's African lioness, Kiki, has given birth to three lion cubs, and for the first 20 days, they won't have any molars, according to Rebecca Snyder, curator of carnivores.

The cubs -- which officials guess are 3 to 5 pounds each -- also won't open their eyes at least until today or sometime next week, Snyder said. And their roar is more birdlike than "King of the Jungle."

"It's a very harsh, noisy vocalization," Snyder said. "It's pretty loud."

The cubs, whose genders are not yet known, were born early Saturday morning. They are the first for Kiki and a feather in the zoo's cap. African lions are listed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species because of declining populations in the wild, Zoo Atlanta officials said.

This is the first time that the zoo has had lion clubs since 1997. The cubs will be on display when they are between 7 to 12 weeks old.

"We're ecstatic to have lion cubs here at Zoo Atlanta," Dennis Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Zoo Atlanta, said in a release. "This is a proud moment for all of Atlanta."

Zoo Atlanta has experienced a baby boom of late. Motherhood has come to the attraction's warthogs, Malayan great argus and black and white ruffed lemurs over the last few months. Officials also hope giant panda Lun Lun, who was artificially inseminated in April, is expecting.

Snyder said Kiki gave birth to her first cub around 1 a.m. Saturday and four others over the next three to four hours. Two of the cubs were stillborn.

The surviving trio are estimated to be between 3 and 5 pounds, though an exact weight could not be determined because zoo officials are keeping their distance to allow Kiki maternal care.

One cub is being watched carefully because it is smaller than the others, but is otherwise healthy, Snyder said.

The first day after they were born, Zoo officials only went in to provide food for Kiki. Since then, they have gone in to clean an adjacent cage that the lioness uses as a bathroom, but have stayed away from her children.

"We are trying to leave her alone as much as possible," Snyder said.

Kiki was born in February 2004 at Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens and arrived at Zoo Atlanta in December 2005. Kamau, her mate and father of her cubs, was born September 2004 and came to Zoo Atlanta from the Denver Zoological Garden in October 2005.

Kamau is currently separated from Kiki and cubs, but he will be introduced in about six weeks.