There was a “special delivery” for the Metro Richmond Zoo on November 30th, when they welcomed seven baby cheetas! They were born to Vaila and Kalu, two cheetahs who have been residents at the zoo but had not mated with each other before. Cheetah septuplets are rare — only occurring in 1% of all births. But there must be something in the cheetah water there because since 2013 the zoo has seen nine cheetah litters born, adding forty-seven cubs. The cubs are not yet on exhibit, but they should be moved to public display space in a few weeks. This is great news because the cheetah is Africa’s most endangered cat — the wild population has plunged from 14,000 in 1975 to only around 7,000 individuals today. Cheetahs are also very fast — the Cincinnati Zoo used a radar gun to time an 11-year-old cheetah and it clocked in at 61 miles an hour. Imagine trying to chase seven of them! That is one tired cheetah Mom!
January 29, 2019 » babies, cheetah, endangered species, Richmond, sextuplets