Every new mum is desperate to show off her little ones - and this lioness is no different , even if that means having to put up with becoming a climbing frame for an afternoon . The proud mother was spotted playing with her six young cubs in the Masai Mara , in Kenya , by French photographers Laurent Renaud and Dominique Haution . However , should they get too rowdy , it is only too clear who is boss - as the pictures clearly show . Scroll down for video . Placid : The lioness might be a honed killer , but she is gentle as anything with her young brood . Adorable : The relaxed lioness with one of her six young cubs climbing over her . Sibling rivalry ? The cubs were seen play fighting together while the lioness looked on . Young : It is thought the lion cubs were only about six weeks old when they were photographed . But while most lionesses keep their cubs out of the limelight , this one seemed keen to make sure the photographers captured their best side . 'It was a beautiful and touching moment , ' Ms Haution revealed . 'The whole family were extraordinarily cute . Mum was definitely showing off her new cubs . 'Normally , lionesses will hide their children away from predators . But she was so proud , carrying them out into the open in her mouth for us to see . 'You could see how happy she was when the cubs were climbing all over her . 'It just shows that even the biggest beasts can show love . ' Indeed , the photos captured the youngsters clambering across the predator - who does n't bat an eyelid . Roar : The cubs may still be tiny , but there is already a hint of the lions they will grow up to be . Friendly : But in other shots , the cubs look so sweet they could be household pets . Victory : But being the winner is still important - as this cub seems to be learning . Control : However , the cubs were left in no doubt of who was in charge when push came to shove . Ms Haution believes the cubs are around six weeks old , which presented a difficulty when trying to photograph them all . She said : 'There were about six in total , but they were running around all over the place so it was hard to capture them all . 'They are so adorable though . Big family : The photographers believe there may have been as many as six cubs , but it was hard to tell . Serene : This little cub seems remarkably calm about being bitten by its sibling . Happy : 'It is hard to believe that they grow up into be king of the jungle when they look as cute as they do in these photos , ' said photographer Dominiqye Haution . 'It is hard to believe that they grow up into be king of the jungle when they look as cute as they do in these photos . 'They were playing just like kittens the way they were playing with each other . ' A couple of the cubs looked like they had their arms around one another . '
Lioness and six cubs were photographed together in the Masai zoo , Kenya . French photographers Laurent ##ess and Dominique Haution ##e . Unusually for a protective lion , mother openly paraded five - year - old cubs .