The Bingwa Bunch: Saint Louis Zoo Names Eight Cheetah Cubs

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Saint Louis Zoo announced Friday that its eight 3-month-old cheetah cubs now have names. The five girls and four boys were named for the numbers one through eight in Swahili.

The cubs' names are:

· Moja (pronounced MOH-jah), female — Swahili for "one"

· Mbili ((pronounced BEE-lee), male — Swahili for "two"

· Tatu ((pronounced TAH-too), male — Swahili for "three"

· Nne ((pronounced NNN-eh), female — Swahili for "four"

· Tano ((pronounced TAH-noh), male — Swahili for "five"

· Sita ((pronounced SEE-tah), female — Swahili for "six"

· Saba ((pronounced SAH-bah), female — Swahili for "seven"

· Nane ((pronounced NAH-neh), female — Swahili for "eight"

The eight cubs were born in November at the zoo's River's Edge Cheetah Breeding Center, and zoo officials say both mother and babies are doing well.

According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, this is the first time a litter of eight cheetahs has been born in captivity. The average cheetah litter is just three to four cubs.

The first few months for newborn cheetahs are critical, zoo officials said, and the family is under close observation. The cubs' mother, Bingwa — which means "champion" in Swahili — "has quickly become adept at caring for her very large litter of cubs," said Steve Bircher, the zoo's curator of mammals and carnivores.

At three months old, the cubs are just staring to eat meat, the zoo said in a press release, and weigh between 8 and 12 pounds each. They are also beginning to show unique personalities as they interact with each other and the zoo's staff.

Bingwa is on loan to the Saint Louis Zoo from Wildlife Safari, a drive-through animal park in Winston, Oregon. The cubs' father, Jason, is on loan from White Oak Conservation, a global conservation organization with a 16,000 acre park in Yulee, Florida.

The cubs' birth is the result of a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Cheetah Species Survival Plan, a program to manage a genetically healthy population of cheetahs in North American zoos, according to the zoo's press release.

“We’ve brought together cheetahs from great distances to continue this important breeding program,” Bircher said. “These handsome cats add genetic diversity to the North American Cheetah SSP population.”

Since 1974, more than 50 cheetah cubs have been born at the Saint Louis Zoo.

Cheetahs once ranged across Africa and Asia, but today fewer than 8,000 animals survive in Africa, and fewer than 100 in Iran. Conflict with humans, disappearing habitats, and a lack of genetic diversity has been blamed for the cheetah's decline.

The Saint Louis Zoo has partnerships with organizations in Tanzania and Nambia to coordinate cheetah conservation efforts.

“Cheetahs are frequently persecuted for killing livestock. Our conservation partners are finding ways to improve the lives of local herders by providing education opportunities, food and medical supplies, so they can live peacefully with cheetahs and support their protection,” Bircher said.

For more information, visit stlzoo.org.

Photo by Carolyn Kelly/Saint Louis Zoo