News & Politics

The National Zoo’s Baby Cheetahs Go Public This Saturday

We got to watch as they were introduced to their yard this morning.

The National Zoo’s Cheetah cubs go public this Saturday. Photographs by Andrew Propp.

The public has to wait until Saturday, but the National Zoo today invited photographers
over for a visit with the three-month-old brother and sister cheetah cubs, who were
born in April at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal,
Virginia. They were let loose in their own yard while the cameras snapped and rolled.

Washingtonian photographer Andrew Propp was there and returned with this series of photos.

Starting this Saturday, the cubs will have access to their yard for no more than one
hour every day at 10 AM and 1 PM. It’s up to them how much of that hour they use to
entertain humans—but if these photos tell us anything, the pandas are in for some
strong competition.