The model posed with the young lion cub whilst promoting her campaign with luxury brand TAG Heuer.
She shared several snaps of herself cuddling up to the cub as well as one of the animal playfully chewing on her tattooed finger.
Concerns were raised following the pictures after animal rights charities revealed that many animals are treated cruelly when working on showbiz campaigns.
One follower wrote: “This photo is so disturbing. Cara, I love your work but please use your status to bring awareness to the plight of animal abuse.”
Dr Neil D’Cruze from World Animal Protection said in a statement: “Lion cubs are not photo props. Their health and well-being should not be compromised. They belong in the wild, not draped over a celebrity just to sell a designer watch.
“When you look behind the scenes, advertisements like these support an industry that relies on animal cruelty.
“Our concern is that such high profile adverts will legitimise these cruel encounters with wild animals.
“I am sure that both advertisers and consumers alike would think twice about the commercial use of wild animals if they were aware of the suffering involved behind the scenes.”
Beyonce recently underwent similar scrutiny after posing with a tiger cub during a rip to a park in Thailand.
If you want to learn more about how to help animals around the world, visitwww.worldanimalprotection.org.uk