A lack of visitors to a Mexican zoo during the coronavirus lockdown enabled the births of two new puma cubs, vets at the facility claim.

Kitzia Rodríguez, a veterinarian at the Africa Bio Zoo in Córdoba, Veracruz State, said the birth of the cubs - named Quarantine and Pandemic - was only possible due to the COVID-19 quarantine.

"Almost no people came (to the zoo), so no stress has been caused by the presence of others," said Rodríguez.

Mexican zoo has claimed that the coronavirus lockdown played a role in the births of two new puma cubs

The animals were born on March 20, five days after a tiger cub (named COVID) was also born in the same enclosure.

Gonzalo Rodríguez, the legal representative of the Africa Bio Zoo, told AFP the names were an effort to "create awareness throughout the planet that we have to be more responsible and united as a society in the times of crises."

Pumas, known as American cougars, are extinct in several countries including the U.S.

The species is protected by regulations of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico and verified in danger of extinction by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection.

Pandemic and Quarantine have become the stars of the zoo, where they play among the trees. With their claws, which already hint enormous size, they can catch the bottle feeding them.

The American cougars have round spots on their fur, which gradually fade away.

The feline couple belongs to a cougar family which was rescued from a circus after a law was passed in Mexico in 2015 that prohibits animals in shows.