Forget the birthday cake. "Bloodsicles" and bones are what a litter of Cheetah cubs enjoyed for their first birthday celebration at the Smithsonian National Zoo's campus in Front Royal, Virginia.
The cubs, named 3D, Kushoma, Zura, Kuba and Kuki, were quick to tear into their birthday treats when they celebrated on Oct. 12, the zoo said in a post on Wednesday.
Their mom, Rosalie, also got to enjoy the trays of frozen blood and bones.
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Fans of the animals have watched them on the zoo's Cheetah Cub Cam for the past year. Now, the live webcam features a new cheetah family: Amani and her two cubs.
Since 2007, 17 cheetah litters have been born at the Virginia campus. With an estimated 7,000 to 7,500 cheetahs left in the wild, the species is considered vulnerable to extinction, the zoo said.
