Cheetah Gives Birth to 4 Cubs
A cheetah delivered four cubs over four hours at the San Diego Wild Animal Park on Monday, and the mother and her litter were doing well, park officials said.
Kariba, the 5-year-old mother, had carried the cubs for 92 days, park spokesman Tom Hanscom said.
This is the second litter of cheetahs to arrive at the park in the past eight days. On Jan. 13, four cubs were delivered by a cheetah named Jasiri.
The recent births bring to 90 the number of cheetahs produced by the park’s breeding program, including 39 that live at the park, Hanscom said.
The park has maintained a cheetah breeding program since 1970. There are about 300 cheetahs in captivity and a wild population estimated at 10,000 to 20,000.
Most of the animal park’s cheetah population is kept in an off-exhibit site. Mothers and healthy cubs often are placed on exhibit on the Kilimanjaro Hiking Trail.
The new cubs may be exhibited sometime after they receive their 14-week shots.
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