If you've yet to fill your quota of daily spluttering over baby animals, this should tip you right over the edge.
A group of six newborn cheetah cubs have been unveiled to the public, having arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Australia.
The cubs were born to mama Kyan and papa Jana, on June 6, in the largest litter the zoo's seen to date (usually the litters are about two to four cubs).
They make a tiny, tiny squeak at this point, which is enough to make you splutter like a choking pelican at your desk.
They'll rely on Kyan until they're about 18 months, and during this time she'll not only provide food for the little critters, but teach them a few hunting skills. The cubs will also practice scratching, climbing and chasing behaviours on each other, but mostly on their poor mama.
Western Plains says little cheetah teeth are razor sharp from a young age. Poor Kyan.
“Kyan is showing very positive maternal behaviour," said cheetah supervisor Jennifer Conaghan in a press statement. "Having so many cubs at one time is her biggest challenge, but she is being a very attentive and patient mother.”
Cheetahs are currently classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List — a group of scientists recently demanded the IUCN list the cheetah instead as endangered.
In the wild, cheetah populations are threatened with habitat destruction, prey reduction and human-wildlife conflict. The known cheetah population is estimated by the IUCN as 6,700 animals distributed across 29 subpopulations, mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa, and these numbers are in decline.
The zoo has been breeding cheetahs since the 1980s — they've currently got a total of 17 of the big cats. So, these six little cubs are pretty great news for the global big cat population — and for humans who love squealing at images of them.
Topics Animals