Tanganyika Wildlife Park welcomed a litter of cheetah cubs earlier this month, the first cheetahs to be born in Kansas.

The cubs were born to parents Amira and Enzi on December 4th, which was also International Cheetah Day. Both parents came to Tanganyika with two other cheetahs from a facility in Africa in 2010, around the same time that the Park rescued several animals from flooding in Minot, North Dakota.  

“This is our first litter of cheetah cubs,” says Matt Fouts, Tanganyika’s Assistant Director. “And, to our knowledge, the first cheetah cubs born in the state of Kansas. It’s an incredibly exciting time for us.”

Prior to the new liter of cheetahs, 8 different cat species had been bred at the Park – clouded leopards, lynx, snow leopards, caracals, Bengal tigers, jaguars, Amur leopards, and servals.

However, successful breeding of the cheetahs had been elusive. How and when they are paired up was a much more intricate process, the park said in a news release. 

“Our initial setup was not ideal, so we committed to building an entirely new cheetah breeding facility and imported four more cheetahs from Africa,” Fouts says. “It was a huge financial decision for our family-owned facility, especially with no guarantee the cheetahs would breed and have an impact on the preservation of their species.”  

Once widespread across most of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the cheetah now occupies less than 25 percent of their historic range. Fewer than 10,000 wild cheetahs remain today, a 90 percent drop from their wild population in 1900, the park said. Habitat loss, conflicts with humans, and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade all represent significant threats to the world’s fastest land animal.

Those who wish to help support the baby cheetahs can “adopt” on at gifts.twpark.com.  The money will go to Species Survival Fund - Tanganyika Winter Fund to care for all the animal during the winter months when Tanganyika is closed to the public.

Tanganyika is located at 1000 South Hawkins Lane in Goddard.