Congratulations to Rosalie and Nick on the birth of five babies! The cheetah cubs were born on October 12 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. The staff have not approached the new cubs yet, since 5-year-old Rosalie is caring for the cubs just fine on her own, so they don't know the cats' genders yet. The father, 10-year-old Nick, was the first cheetah born at SCBI as part of their breeding program. While the staff remains hands-off, they are keeping an eye on the cubs via webcam, and so can we. Check out the cheetah webcam to see what mother and babies are doing. Or go back in time and watch them being born in this video.
Yeah, that seems rather effortless compared to human birth. The Cheetah Breeding Center Coalition is a network of ten breeding programs across the US that coordinate with each other to produce healthy cheetahs with diverse genetic lines. SCBI has contributed 16 cheetah litters since 2007. As of now, 31 cheetahs live on the 9-acre facility, counting the new cubs. They are not on display to the public. Read more about the cheetah cubs at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute)