Tiny cheetah quintuplets born at Missouri zoo. Watch them bond with mom
Five tiny creatures played in a bed of hay and snuggled close to their mom as they took in the surroundings of their new home.
Carefully, and from behind the scenes, staff at the St. Louis Zoo celebrated the birth of cheetah quintuplets and marked a milestone in the vulnerable species’ survival, the zoo said in a June 5 news release.
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The litter of cubs was born to first time mom, 4-year-old Cora, and 8-year-old Vader, according to zoo officials. The two came to the zoo in 2024 and 2022, respectively, and were paired for breeding.
“The first few months of life are critical for newborn cheetahs,” the zoo said. “The Animal Care team is monitoring the cheetah family via camera allowing them to watch Cora develop into an attentive mom — cleaning, nursing the cubs and keeping them warm.’”
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The newborns don’t have names just yet, the zoo said. They’ll spend time bonding with their mom before their first exams during which the sex of each cub will be determined and names will be selected afterward, the zoo said.
While the adorable cubs, dubbed “Cora’s Quints,” won’t be viewable to the public for several months, the zoo shared a video of them exploring their surroundings.
“Cora’s Quints” are considered to be a larger but not “unusual” litter size, according to the zoo. A litter of eight born in 2017 marked the largest litter delivered at the St. Louis Zoo.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species lists cheetahs as a vulnerable species.
The species is native to Africa and Asia, but populations have drastically declined in the wild due to threats such as conflict with livestock owners, illegal trade and habitat loss, zoo officials said. Today, fewer than 7,000 live in Africa.
The species is locally extinct in 13 countries, according to the zoo.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Tiny cheetah quintuplets born at Missouri zoo. Watch them bond with mom."
