Five tiny cheetah cubs have arrived — a first litter for mother Zura, and a fourth generation for her family

At the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, 5-year-old cheetah Zura has given birth to five cubs — her first litter, and the fourth generation of her family born at the institute. The cubs, born on October 5, are the 21st litter born there since 2007, a milestone for a species that is difficult to breed in human care and vulnerable in the wild. Keepers are watching the new family through a den camera — the beloved Cheetah Cub Cam — while giving mother and babies complete quiet, and say Zura has taken to first-time motherhood calmly and attentively.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: institutional program