Spot check: Cheetah cubs appear for first time at Whipsnade Zoo

Seven cheetah cubs have been seen for the first time at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire.

New footage taken by keepers shows the cats with their mothers, exploring their new home while play fighting in long grass and chasing each other.

Amira with two of her cheetah cubs (ZSL/PA)PA Media - ZSL

The cubs were born in May, three to mother Amira and four to Zara, and have been kept in paddocks out of the public eye until now.

The two litters were the first cheetah births at Whipsnade in 15 years and are part of a conservation breeding programme for the endangered north-eastern cheetah sub-species.

Sarah McGregor, section manager of the predators team at Whipsnade Zoo, said: “After spending their first few weeks tucked away with their mums, it’s fantastic that visitors will soon be able to catch a glimpse of our seven cheetah cubs exploring more of their home at the UK’s largest zoo for the first time.”

The cubs explore their area at Whipsnade Zoo (ZSL/PA)PA Media - ZSL

ZSL conservationists are working in Zambia to reintroduce a group of cheetahs into the Luangwa Valley, with only 6,500 of the species thought to be left around the world.

With the birth of Jason, Jasmine and Jacarana in 1967, Whipsnade Zoo became the first in the world to breed and successfully rear cheetahs.