HE MAY only look like a bundle of fluff, but tiny Tejas the lion cub may hold the key to helping his species claw back from the brink of extinction.

The male Asiatic lion was born only days ago to mother Asha and is now being hand-reared by Chester Zoo’s carnivore team.

Despite his weighing only 2.6lb (1.2kg), conservation experts hope he will make a big difference to the future of his species.

There are thought to be only around 350 Asiatic lions left in the wild and these are found exclusively in India’s Gir forest.

A total of 17 have been killed in the last five months and conservationists have picked out little Tejas to one day play a key part in a new breeding programme.

Since his birth on August 25, he has been fed on specially formulated cat milk every three hours.

At around eight weeks old he will be weaned off milk and on to minced beef.

The youngster was one of two cubs born to Asha, but his brother was too small and weak to survive.

Mike Jordan, the zoo’s curator of higher vertebrates, said: "Asiatic lions face some real threats in the wild and the fact that 17 lions alone have died in the last few months, eight of those from poaching, shows just how critical the situation is for the Asiatic lion.

"That’s why this young cub’s birth is so important. The fact that Tejas is a male means he has the potential to play a really important role in the breeding programme for his species."

"It goes without saying that we were sad to lose the other cub. However, the surviving cub is going from strength to strength and will be weaned at about eight weeks of age."