Animals and Insects

Veterinarians Perform C-Section To Save These Adorable Cheetah Cubs

The newborn cubs are receiving round-the-clock care at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Veterinarians Perform C-Section To Save These Adorable Cheetah Cubs
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For this cheetah cub, life pretty much revolves around eating every three hours. Seems pretty easy, right? Well, it hasn't been all smooth sailing.

Staff at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden performed a cesarean section on the 5-year-old mother, Willow, earlier this month after she developed complications.

A team of veterinarians successfully delivered three boys and two girls, but the cubs need round-the-clock care due to weak immune systems. 

"We have to be very careful about hygiene; that's critical that they are kept clean, the formula sterilized, the water is in sterilized bottles, just like for a human baby," the zoo's director of animal health said.

And while C-sections are typically reserved for delivering human babies, another high-profile birth across the pond made headlines last month.

A team at Bristol Zoo delivered a baby western lowland gorilla via C-section after its mother showed signs of pre-eclampsia. 

Days after what is regarded as the first successful gorilla C-section in the U.K., both mother and baby were healthy and receiving lots of care. 

The cubs in Cincinnati will also keep receiving some extra TLC. The siblings will stay in the nursery for at least eight to 12 weeks. 

This video includes images from Getty Images.