Watch Four Furry and Adorable Cheetah Cubs on the Smithsonian National Zoo’s Online Feed

The “strong, active” and “vocal” babies were born during the government shutdown, and they and their 5-year-old, first-time mother, Amabala, are thriving

Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent

November 17, 2025 4:57 p.m.

Amabala, a 5-year-old female who was born in captivity, is raising four healthy cubs. Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Tens of thousands of cheetahs roamed Asia and Africa at the beginning of the 20th century. But in recent decades, their numbers have dwindled due to habitat loss, poaching, human conflict and other threats. Today, these big, spotted cats are considered vulnerable to extinction, with an estimated 6,500 mature individuals remaining in the wild, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Against this backdrop, carnivore keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) were overjoyed last month when 5-year-old adult female Amabala gave birth to four healthy cubs.

The babies, born October 17 and 18, are the 20th litter of cheetahs born at NZCBI’s campus in Front Royal, Virginia, about 70 miles west of Washington, D.C., according to a November 15 announcement.

Their birth is a major accomplishment because cheetahs can be difficult creatures to breed in captivity. “Female reproductive cycles can be sporadic, and their behavior is often very difficult to interpret,” says Adrienne Crosier, a carnivore biologist at NZCBI, in the statement.

Did you know? Cheetahs are built for speed

Cheetahs are speedy—they’re the fastest land mammals on the planet—but they’re especially well-adapted for sprinting. Their top speeds average between 60 and 70 miles per hour, but they can only run that fast for about 900 feet.

For now, staff members are giving Amabala and her babies some space and privacy as they bond as a family. But they’re keeping a close eye on the group via the Cheetah Cub Cam, a live online camera feed that’s also available to the public.

If you don’t see the cubs right away, that may be because Amabala has moved them out of the den and around her habitat. And you won’t see the cubs’ dad—8-year-old Flash—on the feed either, as male cheetahs do not help raise their young.

The cubs were conceived and born under a broader initiative to support the species. Conservationists are working to create and maintain a long-term, healthy population of captive cheetahs in North America. At the same time, they’re also aiding efforts to conserve the species in the wild, as well as research that benefits both populations.

NZCBI is one of ten cheetah breeding centers across the United States, a group known as the Cheetah Breeding Center Coalition. Caretakers at all facilities work with staff at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to determine which individuals to breed, based on their genetics, health, temperament and other factors.

The cubs' father, Flash, is considered a “genetically valuable” cheetah within the North American population, so the newly born litter will likely play an important role in the breeding program moving forward, according to the statement.

Amabala was born via the captive breeding program in 2020. This is her first litter of cubs, but, so far, the babies seem to be thriving. The cubs are “strong, active, vocal and eating well,” according to NZCBI.

The cheetah cubs are just the latest conservation win for the zoo. Most recently, in September 2023, five cubs—two females, three males—were born to then 8-year-old, second-time mom Echo, who had given birth to her first litter of four cubs—which included Amabala—in 2020.

In October 2022, then 4-year-old Amani gave birth to two cubs. And in October 2021, then 5-year-old Rosalie gave birth to five healthy cubs.

Beyond cheetahs, the zoo has also welcomed endangered black-footed ferrets—including the first-ever babies born to a cloned ferret in the summer of 2024. Other vulnerable creatures born in captivity recently include a pair of pygmy slow lorises, a Hartmann’s mountain zebra, a Przewalski’s horse and two Persian onagers.

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