Nov. 17 (UPI) — The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute announced four cheetah cubs were born to a first-time mother during the government shutdown.
The zoo announced in a news release that 5-year-old Amabala, who was herself born at the facility in 2020, gave birth to her first litter of cubs Oct. 17 and 18 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Fort Royal.
“Unlike cheetahs living at our zoo in Washington, D.C., cubs born at SCBI experience limited human contact early in their lives,” officials wrote. “This helps the cubs bond naturally with their mother while giving staff biologists a chance to perform different types of behavioral research than are possible in a zoo habitat.”
Members of the public can still see the cubs, however, thanks to the facility’s “Cheetah Cub Cam” livestream on the zoo’s website…