Five cheetah cubs had to contend with a weather scare and a sick mom right after their birth at the Prague Zoo, but they lived to tell the tale and are doing well now, the zoo said on Friday. The zoo said the quintuplets—four males and one female—had faced a tough time since their birth on June 18, reports the AP. 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. Daenerys protected the five from torrential rains, licking water from their fluffy fur to keep them dry, curator Pavel Brandl said.
In the wild, cheetah infant mortality is high because of predators, and cheetah cubs are also vulnerable to diseases such as pneumonia. 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 that it might take a year before it’s clear that they will survive the crucial period after their birth. Scientists say every cub is critical to saving the species, which is threatened with extinction with fewer than 7,000 of them remaining in the wild. Cheetahs are the fastest animals on land, and can reach maximum speeds of between 70mph and 75mph.