Purrrrrrrrrrrr...

Not so long ago 4 Cheetah cubs were born at our local zoo, Orana Park.

Cheetahs are amazing animals; they look stunning and they're also the fastest land animal reaching maximum speeds between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph). They can accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h (68 mph) in three seconds!!! That's quicker than your average Ferrari!!!

Cheetahs are notoriously difficult to breed and cubs have a 95% mortality rate in the wild. Unfortunately the first time mother of these newborn cubs could not take care of them and staff at Orana decided to try and hand-raise them. For several weeks two keepers 'played mum' in 12 hour shifts, 24/7! Now, about 16 weeks later, it all seems to pay off as they're doing very well.

This one was eyeing up my wee girl while she was waving around some big leaves...