One of the cheetah cubs with mother Novi on October 11
Zoo Basel
Two cheetah cubs, not quite three months old, have taken their first hesitant steps in public, with mother Novi, at Bazel Zoo. Onysha and her brother Opuwo were born on July 18 and until now have lived behind closed doors.
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Breeding cheetahs is far from easy. Staff at Basel ZooExternal link move the males and females around various enclosures to let them get whiffs of each other. If a female expresses interest in a male, the staff pair them up right away – and hope that sparks fly.
The first cheetahs came to Basel Zoo in 1936. The first successful breeding didn’t occur, however, until 1993. Since then, 29 cubs have been born.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.