Spot on!

There’s an extra 16 legs running around Fota after the wildlife park recently announced the birth of 4 Northern Cheetah cubs.

The 4 cubs were born on 26 February to mother Gráinne and father Sam.

The cub’s mother Gráinne is 6 years old and was born in Fota Wildlife Park.

The cub’s father Sam was born in the Wadi Al Safa Wildlife Centre, Dubai, UAE and came to Fota in 2017.

Speaking about the 4 new addtions to Fota Wildlife Park, Head Ranger, Julien Fonteneau said: “I am delighted that our four new cheetah cubs are thriving.

“It is lovely to see them develop and to watch them explore their leafy habitat on Cheetah Hill.”

Julien added: “The cheetahs enjoy being outside and have just started to join their mum during feeding where they love to pull and lick the food.”

Julien also said as a conservation charity and a zoological intuition, Fota Wildlife Park value the importance of participating in European Endangered Species breeding programmes (EEP).

“This year we are celebrating 40 years at Fota Wildlife Park and over 240 cheetahs cubs, through breeding programmes, have been born at the park since it opened in 1983,” Julien concluded.

The team at Fota Wildlife Park said Northern Cheetah cubs are a sub species considered endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

They are considered endangered because there are less than 700 Northern Cheetahs left in the wild, the Fota Wildlife Park team has said.

To celebrate the birth of the Northern Cheetah cubs, Fota Wildlife Park are running a public contest to name the cubs.

Members of the public can vote to name the cubs via an online form at Fotawildlife.ie and each entrant will be in with a chance to win 1 of 4 conservation annual passes to Fota Wildlife Park.

The cheetah is one of the most recognisable species in Fota Wildlife Park and Sean McKeown, Director of Fota Wildlife Park, coordinates the studbook for the breeding of the captive Northern Cheetah population in European zoos.

Fota Wildlife Park is open daily and the Northern Cheetah cubs can be viewed on Cheetah Hill.