Bingwa the cheetah has just lived up to her name. You watch, “bingwa” in Swahili means “champion” and the 4-year-old St. Louis Zoo resident has recently devoted birth to a record-breaking 8-cub litter. My mama constantly reminds me that even as a single child, I sometimes was just too much, so I believe we have to congratulate Bingwa and wish her well!
In over 430 litters documented by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, this is the first time a cheetah has given birth and reared on her own eight cubs at a zoo. The average litter size is three to four cubs.
According to the zoo, Bingwa is already a perfect mom for her three boys and five daughters. “She has quickly become adept at caring for her very large litter of cubs — grooming, nursing and caring for them attentively, ” Steve Bircher, the zoo’s curator of mammals/ carnivores said. She is on loan to the zoo from Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore. The parent, 9-year-old Jason, is on loan from White Oak Conservation in Yulee, Fla.
Today, Bingwa’s accomplishment is more important than ever. The world’s fastest land mammal is racing toward extinction. It is estimated that merely 7,100 of the big cat remain in the wild. The latest cheetah census is demonstrated that these predatory fluffs may decline by an additional 53 percentage over the next 15 years.
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo
Image credits: Carolyn Kelly/ Saint Louis Zoo