Cheetah Cub Cam FAQs

Cheetahs are a vulnerable species. Due to human conflict and poaching, habitat and prey-base loss, there are only an estimated 7,000 to 7,500 cheetahs left in the wild. With less than 10,000 cheetahs living on Earth today, their population is under threat. 

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is part of the Cheetah Breeding Center Coalition—a group of 10 cheetah breeding centers across the United States that aim to create and maintain a sustainable North American cheetah population under human care.  

These cheetah cubs you see on camera are part of an extensive breeding program at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. These cubs are a significant addition to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) for Cheetahs, as each individual contributes to this program. 

New litters of cheetah cubs have been born nearly every year at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute since 2010. It is our hope that seeing newborn cubs brings Cheetah Cub Cam viewers joy and helps them feel a deeper connection to this vulnerable species. 

Amabala is a 5-year-old cheetah living at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. She was born at SCBI in 2020 and was part of the first litter to be shown on the Cheetah Cub Cam! This is her first litter.

Often when an animal is about to give birth, keepers set up a camera to make sure they can monitor the health and well-being of the mother and her offspring. The webcam feed you’re watching is one that keepers monitor 24/7. It was set up long before Amabala was pregnant and will remain in place for as long as keepers need to make sure she is doing well.

Flash was born in April 2017 at Toronto Zoo in Canada and came to SCBI with his brothers in 2019. Flash previously produced three surviving cubs in 2023. Male cheetahs do not play any role in raising their young.

Cheetahs are usually pregnant for about 90 days, or three months. Amabala’s breeding took place in July. Birth windows for cheetahs last for about 10 days.

Interaction between a mother cheetah and her cubs helps them bond. Cheetah mothers lick their cubs to clean and groom them. The cheetah mother has to do this right after birth and will continue to groom them regularly as they grow. Echo also used grooming to stimulate her cubs to urinate and defecate when they were first born. You may see Echo nursing (feeding) her cubs, and as they get older, mother and cubs will play together. 

Cheetah cubs chirp when they are looking for their mom, or when they are hungry or cold. You may also hear the cubs and Amabala purring.

That remains to be seen. These cheetah cubs are part of an extensive breeding program at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. Animal keepers and biologists do not plan for the cubs to either breed or go on exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. until they are at least two years old. So, the cubs will be in Front Royal until they are two… but after that, who knows!

Not counting the new cubs, 25 cheetahs live at the 9-acre breeding facility and the 2-acre satellite Cheetah Ridge facility in Front Royal, Virginia. Here, the cheetahs’ habitat spaces are purposefully nestled away in a quiet area, because cheetahs breed more successfully in quiet environments. 

Including Amabala’s litter, 20 litters of cubs have been born at SCBI since 2010.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s legacy of conservation work extends beyond the public Zoo in Washington, D.C., to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. Scientists at SCBI study and breed more than 20 animals species, including some that were once extinct in the wild, such as black-footed ferrets and scimitar-horned oryx, but have now returned thanks to dedicated conservation efforts.

At SCBI, animals thrive in specialized barns and building complexes spread over more than 1,000 acres. The sprawling environment allows for unique studies that contribute to the survival of threatened, difficult-to-breed species with distinct needs, especially those requiring large areas, natural group sizes and minimal public disturbance.

The cheetahs may have animal visitors in their den overnight! Because SCBI is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, native wildlife often makes its way onto the rural property. The risk posed to the cheetah cubs is minimal, especially since they have mom Amabala around to protect them. The visiting opossums also provide a valuable service by eating any ticks they find in the cheetah yards. Occasionally, keepers do catch and remove opossums, but more often than not, these visitors choose to leave on their own.