Amira the cheetah and two of her cubs at Whipsnade Zoo. (ZSL via SWNS)
By Lauren Beavis
Seven cheetah cubs have made their public debut at a UK zoo.
The cats and their mothers were exploring their new home while play fighting in the long grass and chasing each other.
The two litters - four seven-week-old cubs born to mom Amira on May 18, and three six-week-old cubs born to mom Zara on May 23 - are the first cheetah births at Whipsnade Zoo in 15 years.
Four northern cheetah cubs at Whipsnade Zoo explore the great outdoors. (ZSL via SWNS)
The zoo have said the seven cubs - who will be sexed at their first health checks in the next couple of weeks - are vitally important for the conservation breeding program for their endangered sub species the northern cheetah.
They will be named by ZSL's conservationists, who are working in Zambia to release cheetahs into the wild for the first time in almost three decades.
Working with the Government of Zambia and several conservation NGOs, ZSL will reintroduce a group of cheetahs to the Luangwa Valley to help boost the conservation of this iconic feline- of which only 6,500 individuals remain on Earth.
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