I think that most of us would agree that animals are really struggling in the wild. Between the loss of habitat, hunting and all of the other problems they are experiencing, more and more animals are being added to the list of endangered species. That would include wild cheetahs in Africa, a species that has seen a significant drop over the years. In fact, one professional at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia said that the number of cheetahs in the wild in Africa has dropped from 100,000 down to only 7,000.
With so few cheetahs living in the wild, it’s obvious that any births are going to be a very welcome event. Perhaps that is why the pregnant cheetah at the zoo receives so many cheers when she recently gave birth to some healthy cubs. It wasn’t just a one-time event, either, she has had 2 successful pregnancies but it goes beyond the fact that she just had cubs successfully. In the wild, a cheetah will typically have 3 or 4 cubs but Valia managed to have 7 healthy cubs! This is an amazing occurrence that only takes place about once out of every 7 pregnancies. Considering the fact that she also had 7 cubs during her first pregnancy makes it unbelievable.
47 cheetahs have been welcomed into the world at the zoo in Richmond Virginia. Those cheetahs have come from 9 successful pregnancies, but 14 of those cubs came from Valia.
It is the hope of the zoo that the efforts they are putting forth to conserve cheetahs in Africa will do well. They will take care of the cheetahs in captivity and give them every opportunity to have a happy and healthy life. You can see more in the following video:
