After a Denmark zoo received flak and criticism for putting down a healthy giraffe last month, the zoo put down two lions and their 10-month-old cubs to make way for a new young male lion on Monday, BBC News reported.

Since the Copenhagen zoo failed to find a new home for the four-lion family, it "had to euthanize" the felines, the zoo said.

Both the parent lions, a 16-year-old male and a 14-year-old female, were almost at the end of their natural lives in captivity, it added.

"Because of the pride of lions' natural structure and behavior, the zoo has had to euthanize the two old lions and two young lions who were not old enough to fend for themselves," Copenhagen Zoo said in a statement.

The cubs "would have been killed by the new male lion as soon as he got the chance," it added, according to the Telegraph.

The zoo claimed that it had requested other parks to adopt the cubs, but had not received any help, BBC News reported.

"The new male lion is due to arrive in the next few days and will be introduced to the zoo's two female lions who, born in 2012, have reached breeding age," BBC News reported.

"The zoo is recognized worldwide for our work with lions," chief executive Steffen Straede said, "I am proud that one of the zoo's own brood now forms the center of a new pride of lions".

Last month, 18-month old giraffe Marius was shot and dissected in front of a live large audience. He was later fed to the lions.

The death of the healthy giraffe, considered unsuitable for breeding, shocked animal lovers and sparked outrage among activists. A petition to save the giraffe had been signed by 27,000 people, the Telegraph reported.

However, the zoo refused to acknowledge the outcry over the giraffe's death and said the procedure that was carried out was not inappropriate.

According to a spokesman, the zoo will not be dissecting the lions in public since "not all our animals are dissected in front of an audience," the Telegraph reported.