Cheetah cubs survive powerful storms, mother’s illness at Prague Zoo, but curator warns “it’s still a long run”

Five cheetah cubs had to survive a weather scare and the illness of their mother after their birth at the Prague Zoo. But they are doing well now, the zoo said on Friday.

The zoo said the quintuplets — four males and one female — that were born on June 18 had faced a tough time from the start.

Their mother, Daenerys, opted to give birth in an outdoor enclosure with a period of strong storms hitting Prague soon after.

Despite her inexperience, Daenerys took “exemplary” good care of her first cubs under such weather conditions, the zoo said.

Daenerys protected the five from torrential rains, licking water from their fluffy fur to keep them dry, curator Pavel Brandl said.

“Thanks to the mother’s attentiveness, all five cubs survived the heavy downpours,” the zoo wrote in a statement. “Soaking and subsequent pneumonia — along with predation — are common causes of mortality in cheetah cubs in the wild. It appears, however, that the mother dried her young by licking water from their fluffy coats with a characteristic dorsal mantle.”

To make things worse, Daenerys suffered from an intestinal infection in August.

But despite all odds, the five looked lively and healthy on Friday.

“At this moment, everything seems fine, but it’s still a long run,” Brandl said. He said it might take a year before it’s clear they will survive the crucial period after their birth.

“The mother of the cubs continues to surprise us,” Brandl said after the cubs were born. “She arrived from France several years ago in poor physical and mental condition, and at the time, I was convinced we would never see offspring from this female.”

Scientists say every cub is critical to saving the species, which is threatened with extinction.

Cheetahs, the fastest land animals in the world, can reach maximum speeds of between 70 and 75 mph. It’s estimated that fewer than 7,000 of them remain in the wild.

Since 2020, the number of cheetahs in European zoos has declined by 25%, according to the zoo.

“Every successfully reared cub is therefore both an achievement and a source of hope,” the zoo said.

Last October, 11 cheetah cubs were rescued from illegal trade in Somaliland in what a conservationist described as “one of the largest confiscations of the species.”